The truth can set you free
by RaiderXV
Summary: Naruto fails the Genin exam but is not promoted afterwards. Follow Naruto as he tries to achieve his dream after a monumental failure. NaruHinaHaku Fem . Very agnsty for the first few chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I will say it like I've said it before… I don't own Naruto or any cannon ideas in this story. Anything farfetched you can blame on me, but I take no responsibility for any misuse of this material. This is an update and partial rewrite of this story. I've done some simple edits and some grammar correction to the story. There might be some subtle changes along the way, but I hope it meets with your enjoyment. I'll be working on this story and my others as time permits.

Chapter 1 – Revelations…

Naruto looked down at the test and could not understand why the test was so difficult. 'Why are they asking about how I should act towards a Kage delegate when guarding the Hokage? That was never covered even when I was sleeping, I'm sure of it. Why do they want to know the economic impact of a war upon a village as opposed to general skirmishes? Why do they want the battle order for a pincer maneuver when you have inferior forces but superior terrain? These are not genin questions. What is going on?' Naruto thought to himself as he overviewed his test.

Hinata looked over at a very frustrated Naruto. 'What is wrong with Naruto-kun?' Hinata thought to herself, as she looked at his test. Her eyes opened wide as she saw the questions on his paper. She looked quickly at her own then towards several others. Every test in the room was exactly the same except for Naruto's. Naruto's was different, she slipped her hands below the desk and did several hand signs and activated her Byakugan and then she examined Naruto's paper, it was the same test as everyone else had. 'A genjutsu had been placed on his test? Why would they do that? Are they trying to get him to fail?'

"Hinata Hyuuga, please deactivate your doujustu, since we do not want you to cheat." Iruka commented as the thought crossed his mind. 'Why is she looking at Naruto's test?' Hinata worried so much about how Naruto was doing that she forgot to answer most of the questions on her test.

"Please put down your pencils, since we need you to go out to the training field for your practical skills test. Mizuki-sensei will do the grading for that while I correct your tests. Good luck and I'll see you when you come back here. I should be finished grading your tests by then and then we can do the ninjutsu portion of the exam." Iruka happily explained.

Out in the courtyard everyone was given a set of Kunai, shuriken and senbon. Hinata at this point was livid about what had been happening. Either Iruka was too busy or didn't care that Naruto was being singled out to fail. She used her Byakugan to quickly inspect all of the weapons that the students were given. Sasuke Uchiha was given the mint condition equipment for his round of the test. Hinata noticed that her equipment along with Naruto's, were at the bottom of the quality list with Naruto's not even good enough to be melted down for replacement equipment. Hers were better, but the others had better equipment. It was as if both she and Naruto were being setup to fail. She decided to speak up and stand up for her and Naruto's rights. "Excuse me Mizuki-sensei, why did Naruto-kun and I get equipment of such inferior quality?" Hinata asked, a bit of anger evident in her tone.

Mizuki looked annoyed for an instant before he put a smile on his face. "I am sorry Hinata-sama, but I gave out the equipment in a random fashion. If you would like you could take ten points off your grade and get some new equipment, and possibly lose your place as you can't be late when I call your name for your test." Mizuki answered authoritatively.

Naruto became angry for a second, but then calmed down, as did Hinata. 'Why is she trying to help me, I knew this would be an uphill battle for me, but why would she jeopardize her chances to help me? Could it be that she likes me?' Naruto thought to himself. Naruto inspected his equipment and found all the equipment dull and rusty. Even the senbon were bent. Naruto took the time to bend the senbon back as straight as possible. He noticed Hinata had similar equipment, but not as bad as his. At least her senbon were straight.

Mizuki called each of the students for their turn. Sasuke got the best score while Hinata and Naruto placed at the bottom. Mizuki hid his anger that the 'demon' had made a passable grade on the weapons test, even with such bad equipment. He didn't notice that all of the kunai and shuriken that Sasuke had used were now missing. With no stealth or speed tests the students then moved to the taijutsu portion of the test. Naruto was pitted against Sasuke and lost miserably. He was hit just before Mizuki had said start and Mizuki didn't even lower Sasuke's score for cheating. Hinata ran into a similar problem with Ame who was the top-ranked female student in the taijutsu area. Hinata was so angry at what was happening that she sat down next to Naruto and didn't even notice until he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, I guess I'm not the only one who is being singled out for failure, sorry." Naruto said, as his eyes showed a deep hurt and compassion.

Hinata, in a move that surprised even her, put her hand on Naruto's, only wearing a slight blush. "Thank you Naruto-kun, it means a lot to me that you would try to comfort me," she replied, then leaned her head on his hand.

Naruto was confused now. 'Wait I have only seen this when couples like each other. Does she really like me, but what about Sakura-chan?' Naruto thought to himself, he then looked at Sakura only to see the most evil and angry look the girl had ever given him. Her clenched fist promised pain if she came close to him. 'Either she doesn't like me or she is jealous.' Naruto then thought back to how she had treated him in the past. Naruto had tried to comfort her the way he did Hinata, but was only beaten for his trouble and had been given the very same look. 'Oh my god, she really _does_ hate me!' Naruto panicked in his mind and then looked down in despair.

Hinata noticed the look Sakura gave to Naruto, and knew exactly what it meant. When she felt Naruto's arm slacken Hinata looked worriedly at him. Gone was the smile, fear and desperation were all over his face. Hinata gently squeezed his hand and smiled kindly at Naruto in an effort to cheer him up. 'I hope I can help him to pass the exams. We are not doing so well, Kurenai will not be happy. Neither will father,' Hinata thought to herself.

Naruto felt the squeeze of his hand. He looked up to see a kind smile from the indigo-haired girl. 'Is she trying to ease my pain?' Naruto became excited at the prospect that someone actually liked him. He returned the smile only to get another gentle squeeze of his hand and a bigger smile.

The class moved back into the classroom for the final part of the test, ninjutsu. Naruto was worried that he might not be able to pass this part and wanted to make sure he could do it right. Several students were called into the room with Mizuki and Iruka as they were asked to perform a clone jutsu for the ninjutsu part of the exam. Naruto entered and began to build up an immense amount of chakra, Hinata noticed the building chakra. 'That is too much for even forty clones. What is Naruto-kun thinking?' She thought to herself, and then activated her Byakugan to watch. She saw Naruto engulfed in a huge amount of chakra and then he attempted to perform the clone jutsu. This created a single clone that was totally pathetic. She read Iruka's lips only to see him yell that Naruto had failed. She also read the two teachers' lips to see that they were arguing about whether or not they should pass Naruto. In the end they did not pass him. Hinata was shaken by what she had seen and was called next. She couldn't calm her nerves enough to create a clone either and was also failed.

Naruto found the tree swing and watched as other students celebrated their graduation from the academy with their parents. He then noticed a shadow standing next to him. It was Hinata and she wore the same dejected look he did. "Hinata-chan? Why are you not celebrating with the others?" Naruto asked, not even realizing that he had added the 'chan' suffix to her name.

Hinata fought back tears as she pointed to the swing. "Can I sit with you please?" She asked, as she sounded a bit depressed.

Naruto nodded as he heard an offhanded comment about him not graduating. "Sure, what's wrong?" He asked in a kind and gentle voice.

Hinata sat next to Naruto, then slumped into his shoulder and began to cry. "I failed. I failed! My father is going to kill me!" Hinata cried as she sobbed into his shoulder.

Naruto didn't know what to do, as he was used to failing, but he had no idea how to help other people deal with their failures. "I failed too. Maybe I can get your dad to go easy on you?" Naruto offered.

Hinata's sobs lessened. "I don't think you could help with him, thank you though Naruto-kun." Hinata replied and then hugged Naruto as a thank you.

Both children broke the embrace as they felt someone standing over them. Mizuki had only planned to have Naruto to fail but if he could take the scroll and bring a Hyuuga along for experimentation then all the better for him. "You got a minute, kids?" Mizuki asked with a kind smile.

Naruto and Hinata looked up at Mizuki and nodded. The Hokage, Iruka and Hiashi all saw the scene, all scowled. Naruto, Hinata and Mizuki were gone a moment later.

"Iruka means well guys. He just wants you to be prepared and not be hurt when you become genin. I probably shouldn't mention this, but there is another way to become a genin." Mizuki stated with a smile as both children listened intently.

Hinata could not believe how much stealth and speed Naruto had as they moved through the Hokage tower. They quickly found the vault and searched for the scroll that Mizuki-sensei had told them to bring. Naruto saw a few scrolls that caught his eye, two were labeled with his name and one with Hinata's name, and he quickly pocketed them. He then found the scroll they needed. As they left with the scroll strapped to Naruto's back, Sarutobi appeared. "Oh no, it's the old man!" Naruto quietly exclaimed.

Hinata looked worried. "Oh no Naruto-kun, what do we do?" She asked, as she started to panic. Her eyes widened even more as she saw the grin on Naruto's face, the one that she knew meant that he was going to pull a prank on someone.

"Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, what are you doing in the tower at this late hour?" Sarutobi asked as he looked back and forth between the two children. He then noticed Naruto's smile a little too late.

Naruto moved his hands to make the ram hand sign. "Transform!" Naruto exclaimed, as he turned into a beautiful young woman with blonde ponytails and no clothes. The Hokage immediately flew backwards from the blood that gushed from his nose. Hinata giggled, since she had seen this before. Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and began to run towards the exit. "We need to get out of here and train, so we can pass the exam. The rules were not to get caught. Luckily he didn't say anything about not being seen."

Naruto was panting, as Hinata lay near him, nearly unconscious. "We got the first one. I know it's taxing, but we did it. How about we try this one? Corpse spirit sealing method, nah, sounds creepy and we don't have a dead body to seal," he stated, and then moved to another jutsu in the scroll.

Hinata sat up, looked at the explanation and paled. "Naruto-kun, that one requires you to die so you can take someone else with you in to the belly of the Shinigami. It's a suicidal jutsu, so we won't try that one. I don't get it, Naruto-kun! All of the jutsu in this scroll are forbidden, and the explanations are quite explicit. The shadow clone jutsu we just learned is forbidden because it takes a lot of chakra and then will divide what you have left between you and your clones. You have a lot of chakra, but I don't have that much. My chakra control is all that kept me from dying from using that jutsu, and I even took a soldier pill! I can make one clone and you can make a lot more than that and only be winded. If I were to use this jutsu I would not be able to fight at all, since I would have nearly exhausted my chakra supply. I see only two more we could learn safely. They are 'Eagle eye' and 'Shadow clone shuriken'. Both have better requirements, but should not be used a lot. The drawbacks to the 'Eagle eye' jutsu are that you will have enhanced sight, but your close range vision is nearly gone. The 'Shadow clone shuriken' jutsu will allow us to make one shuriken into many, but if used too often you will again exhaust your chakra supply." Hinata explained in a way Naruto could actually understand.

"Are there any more benefits to the 'Shadow clone' jutsu other than creating lots of clones of myself and filling up an area with them? Lots of useless fighters would still equal close to almost nothing if I can't fight worth beans." Naruto stated in recognition of his own poor taijutsu skills.

"Yes. Anything the clone learns is transferred back to the caster. Also the mental fatigue will be transferred back to you, so if you have say fifty 'shadow clones' and dismiss them all at once you might suffer from overload from the feedback," Hinata explained. "Now let's learn these two other techniques, so that we can pass this test," Hinata said, as she put her hand on Naruto's to trying to reassure him. He noticed the blush on both of their faces as they touched.

They said each other's name at the same time, turned away and then they looked at each other only to see a blush on the other's face. Naruto recovered first. "Hinata-chan, we need to get to these techniques down first, and then we can talk," he stated, as he smiled warmly at her, while the blush threatened to return.

Hinata nodded and turned her attention to the scroll. "Now memorize the hand seals first and then memorize the release seal for the 'Eagle eye' jutsu. This way you can release it, so we won't be hampered by it for any length of time," she explained.

Naruto shook his head. "First we should do the 'Shadow clone shuriken'. It does have a higher chakra requirement, but it has less hand seals, so it would be easier to memorize. Then we can then do the 'Eagle's eye' technique," he argued.

Hinata sighed, as she relented and positioned the scroll on both of their laps and they began to study the jutsu. Five minutes later several of the trees were embedded with hundreds of shuriken and kunai. Naruto was so happy he kissed Hinata on the cheek. She turned cherry red and looked at Naruto in a daze. "Naruto-kun, kissed me… he likes me like I like him…" Hinata whispered happily in her dazed state.

Naruto wore a confused look on his face. 'Hinata-chan likes me? If Hinata-chan likes me, what about Sakura-chan? She could be cuter than Sakura-chan, and her treatment towards me so far is much better than the beatings I keep getting when I am nice to Sakura! Man I am so confused! What should I do? I like Hinata-chan, but…' Naruto was brought out of his thoughts, when Hinata's hand touched his face with a worried look.

"You do like me don't you Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, her eye almost begged him to say yes.

Naruto's face turned from confused and concerned to a warm smile she had only seen on a few occasions. "Yes, Hinata-chan, I do like you," he replied, more sure of himself than he'd ever been in his life.

Hinata smiled and as she felt a comforting warmth growing in her. 'He likes me! I must prove that he we can be a good team!' She thought to herself. "Naruto-kun, we need to get this last jutsu down before Mizuki-sensei arrives!" Hinata exclaimed.

Naruto nodded, as they both learned both the engagement and release hand signs. A few minutes later both were smiling and embraced in a hug, as they awaited both Iruka and Mizuki to arrive. They had seen Iruka and Mizuki with the Eagle eye jutsu, Iruka was a few minutes closer, but they were worried as Mizuki appeared to be decked out for war not for a test!

Iruka jumped down ready to tell the children that they had been caught when both smiled at him and said, "Hi, Iruka-sensei! Are you going to administer the test when Mizuki-sensei also arrives?" The question asked in unison by the children confused Iruka for a minute.

"Test! What test?" Iruka questioned in his confusion.

"The special genin test, where we steal this scroll and learn two jutsu from it to pass, Mizuki-sensei told us about it," Naruto explained.

Iruka looked at Naruto as if he had eaten a psychedelic mushroom. "There is no test like that!" Iruka exclaimed.

"Then Mizuki-sensei is coming to kill us and take the scroll then," Hinata explained with a dejected look on her face. Iruka pushed the children out of the way just as a dozen kunai embedded themselves into either Iruka or the shack that he was now pinned to.

"Well you got part of that right little girl. I did plan on killing the brat and taking you and the scroll as prizes, but it looks like I need to take out the trash first," Mizuki exclaimed.

"Mizuki, why would you have them steal… you were planning to take the scroll for yourself and kill them weren't you?" Iruka said in an accusatory tone. The pieces were beginning to add up.

"No, the demon brat and thanks to your arrival, your being added to the trash list, I was planning to take little Hinata here with me to Orochimaru, so that he could experiment on her," Mizuki explained, as he began to laugh. He then continued, "Both of you are idiots, and now I am going to finish you off! But first, Naruto… don't you want to know why everyone in the village hates you?"

Iruka shook his head, but he was pinned to the side of the shack that was nearby and could only exclaim, "No, Mizuki it's forbidden!"

Hinata looked at Naruto, while his expression changed several times, first from anger to worry, then to fear and finally to curiosity, as he finally nodded. Mizuki laughed and explained, "The Fourth Hokage didn't kill the Nine-tails all those years ago, it's sealed within you! You are the demon fox, Naruto!"

Hinata watched Naruto's face change again from fear to frustration to anguish. Naruto clutched the scroll as he was suddenly hit by two bodies. He felt something warm drip on his face. As he opened his eyes he saw Iruka looking down on him with tears in his eyes and blood seeping from his mouth. He also saw Hinata clutched on to him tightly. He looked back between the two of them as Iruka spoke. "I am sorry, Naruto, that I wasn't there for you. I knew you were all alone but I didn't reach out to you until now. We are a lot alike, you and I. We were both alone for a lot of our lives. I know what it is like to be alone. Maybe Hinata here will help you not to be so alone. Now take the scroll and don't let Mizuki get it."

Naruto looked down at Hinata, as she nodded and helped him turn over to begin to run away. Hinata was in quick pursuit. Iruka pulled the fuuma shuriken from his back and threw it haphazardly at Mizuki only to miss miserably. Mizuki laughed as he jumped past Iruka and said, "I'll deal with you later."

Naruto was leaping from tree to tree as Iruka pulled up beside him. "Mizuki was lying to you, don't believe anything he says. Hand me the scroll," Iruka exclaimed, as Naruto changed his direction and kneed Iruka in the stomach. Both landed hard and rolled to a stop. "How did you know that I wasn't Iruka?" Iruka asked, as he transformed back into Mizuki.

Naruto lay against the tree and took a deep breath and he changed into Iruka. He then explained, "Because, I'm Iruka."

"Why are you defending him? He's a monster! He will take all of his anger and hatred and pour it into the scroll and destroy the village," Mizuki exclaimed.

Naruto heard this from behind a near tree and began to cry only to feel a hand on his shoulder, it was Hinata who reached down and hugged him gently. "You will never be a monster to me," she whispered gently. "You will always be Naruto-kun."

"You're right that is what a monster would do," Iruka explained, as both Naruto and Hinata froze. He then continued, "But that isn't what Naruto would do. He is Naruto Uzumaki from the village hidden in the leaves and he is not the Kyuubi, he is its jailer!" Iruka exclaimed.

Naruto looked up at Hinata who smiled and nodded to him. "He does care…" Naruto whispered, as Hinata again smiled and nodded.

"You know I was going to kill you last, but now you are just in the way," Mizuki explained emphatically, as he pulled the second shuriken off of his back and began to spin it. Iruka smiled, as he felt his impending death. Suddenly a shuriken flew past him as well as an orange object, the shuriken turned into ten as several tore into Mizuki, and the orange object then slammed into Mizuki, thus it caused him to lose control of the large shuriken, which flew off behind him.

Naruto stood over the bloody and injured Mizuki holding the scroll beside him. "If you lay a finger on our sensei again, we'll kill you!" Naruto exclaimed threateningly.

"You and that loser of a Hyuuga tramp? Right, bring it on, I can beat you in one move, give me your best shot," Mizuki replied boastfully, as he stood up.

Naruto crossed his hands with middle and index fingers extended in a half Ram and half Ox seal while he shouted, "Shadow clone technique!" Suddenly the clearing was filled with hundreds of Naruto clones. "So are you going to fight me or are you going to just stand there?" The Naruto clones asked, as Mizuki stood there, terrified by the sheer number of clones Naruto had created. "Okay, here we come!" Naruto exclaimed, as he proceeded to beat Mizuki into a living pulp.

Hinata stepped out next to Iruka panting. "Naruto-kun, looks like we both got one of the 'Shadow' techniques to work," She happily explained.

Iruka looked at Naruto then to Hinata. "Did you use 'Shadow clone shuriken', Hinata-chan?" Iruka asked, as Hinata nodded. Iruka shakily stood as Naruto dragged Mizuki and the scroll towards the two. "I am very proud of both of you. I hereby pass you both, so you are now both genin of the leaf."

Naruto, Hinata and Iruka were in the Hokage's office all with smiles. The Hokage on the other hand was not smiling. "Did I hear you correctly Iruka? You passed them for bringing back a scroll that they both stole from this very tower?" Sarutobi asked angrily.

Iruka swallowed hard, but remained firm and replied, "Yes Hokage-sama, I passed them on the grounds that they learned a jonin level a genin level and a chunin level technique from the scroll of sealing. They used all three to defeat a traitorous chuunin."

"So you defend them in stealing their act of stealing the sacred sealing scroll?" Sarutobi asked wearily.

"No, of course not Hokage-sama, but they were tricked by a trusted figure of authority," Iruka replied in an attempt to counter the Hokage's argument.

"They should have thought it through and then asked you if there was such a test. As shinobi they should be able to discern fact from fiction, they cannot at this time do that," Sarutobi said in an angrily retort.

"So you are saying they should have known better?" Iruka asked furiously.

"Yes," Sarutobi's one word reply took all the wind out of Iruka's sails.

Hinata was angry, really angry and her dam finally burst, she then activated her Byakugan without thinking. "Hokage-sama, I can understand if you deny me the chance to be a shinobi, but Naruto-kun was not given the appropriate tests, and neither was I for that matter! His test had a genjutsu placed upon it. Our weapons were rusty, blunted and bent! If you do this you show that you are showing favoritism rules here in Konoha and would prefer to have those that are showed favor as the preferred ninja in this village. Naruto-kun was failed by a test that was slated for him to fail, and for certain others to breeze by!" Hinata said accusatorily.

"You are saying that I would sanction that one genin candidate would be favored over another? What evidence do you have?" Sarutobi asked.

Hinata and Naruto removed the weapons they were given for the exams out of their pockets. Iruka was stunned at the appalling condition of the weapons. "Were these the weapons you were given for the exam?" Iruka questioned, as the children just nodded.

"I'm sorry, but this is irrelevant. I'm sorry that you didn't pass but you must understand that I can't show favoritism to either of you," Sarutobi replied with a sigh.

"Then you will have to strip Sasuke of his rookie-of-the-year status," Naruto stated without emotion.

"And why should I?" Sarutobi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You said you would not show favoritism. He was allowed to use superior weapons in the weapons test along with a dummy that had magnets in it! He was also allowed to attack me before the signal was given during the taijutsu evaluation. I know he is better than I am at taijutsu, but if he is allowed to cheat like that then you would be within your rights to allow our passage! His test was also already filled out!" Naruto angrily replied.

"Look Naruto-kun, I know you are angry and do not like Sasuke Uchiha…" Sarutobi began, but was interrupted.

"Like? It does not matter if I like him or hate his guts, he was unfairly helped to pass, and I wouldn't put it past Mizuki-teme to be the one who answered Sasuke-teme's test for him! I don't know why the village treats him like they all want to want to wipe his ass, and even worse than that, he expects it! While I, the one who protects this village from a ravaging nature demon, am treated like dirt! Why is it that I'm treated like a demon? I am not one, damn it! I thought of you like a grandfather, now I… I don't know…" Naruto trailed off after having yelled at the Hokage. Hinata moved to his side, cupped his arm and then rubbed his back to try to soothe him. "I don't get it. You say that everyone in the village is precious, but you let me be treated like shit. You allow that ass, Sasuke to walk all over everything and do nothing."

"Silence! I have given you a lot of leeway Naruto. The stunt with the monument the other day, all you got for it was a warning. Now I will allow you both to attend the academy for another year to try to take the exam again next year, otherwise you are now both now civilians," Sarutobi said, as he pressed his fingers onto the bridge of his nose.

"I was going to stop pranks when I passed the exams. I don't know, let me think about it old man. I have a lot to think about," Naruto angrily replied, as his eyes showed his anger towards the man.

"I agree, Hokage-sama…" Hinata said, as her voice seethed with venom when she said the word 'sama'.

This hurt the old Hokage, but he knew the rules set down by the Second Hokage. 'In times of war you can pass all genin you need, in times of peace you must only pass those that can pass the tests put forth by the academy.' "Very well I will await your decisions. Iruka I will talk to you tomorrow about team assignments. Also let Kurenai in as you leave, since she needs to hear about this from me and the children."

"Yes Hokage-sama. I'm sorry, kids. I tried," Iruka said weakly apologized, as he left and a woman entered the room.

"Kurenai-sensei," Hinata whispered and lowered her head. This time Naruto rubbed her back to comfort Hinata.

"Ah, Kurenai-chan, come in," Sarutobi said to the woman, now appearing to be in a happier mood. "We have a couple things to discuss regarding your charge, Hinata Hyuuga," Sarutobi explained, as Kurenai nodded. "Well both of these students failed the genin exams. They also both know about Naruto's condition." Sarutobi's statement immediately put Kurenai on guard, as she eyed Naruto. Hinata grabbed Naruto's hand for support and squeezed. He then continued, "You see they broke into the tower, sneaked past several ANBU, took the scroll of sealing and sneaked past me. They then proceeded to take the scroll to a secluded place in the woods and learn from it." Naruto and Hinata were surprised that Kurenai's eyes opened even wider then they even thought possible. She turned to them with an angry glare.

"Is this true, Hinata-chan, Naruto?" Kurenai asked in an angry voice, as both nodded. "Continue Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi nodded and continued, "You see they learned three techniques, 'Shadow clone', 'Shadow clone shuriken', and 'Eagle eye' from the scroll." Kurenai gasped. "Yes, I know all are forbidden for a reason. They were supposed to turn the scroll over to Mizuki and show him what they learned." Kurenai eyed them questioningly. "They apparently didn't have any common sense. The scroll was guarded for a reason and chuunin are usually not allowed to view it. So why would a chunin want you to get the scroll and demonstrate that you can use forbidden jutsu?" Sarutobi asked.

"How should we know? We didn't even know it existed before Mizuki-teme told us to get it and where to get it. We thought that it being guarded was part of the test. I swear this day couldn't get anymore screwed up!" Naruto yelled in frustration, as Hinata squeezed his hand.

Kurenai scowled at Naruto, but showed some sympathy in her eyes, as Sarutobi continued, "I am giving them a chance to go back to the academy for another year and try to become genin next year. I know that you wanted Hinata on your team. Are you going to pull yourself out and wait for her or go ahead and take the team we assemble?" Sarutobi asked.

"One question first, if I may?" Kurenai asked, as Sarutobi nodded. "Naruto, Hinata-chan, can you both do all three of the jutsu the Hokage stated?" Both nodded in response. "Describe each jutsu and how well you can use them, Hinata-chan first."

Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand even tighter and swallowed hard. "Well Kurenai-sensei, I can make one 'Shadow clone' the infiltration and information gathering solid clone jutsu. I can make ten 'Shadow shuriken' at a time. 'Eagle eye' is a jutsu similar, but different from my Byakugan in that I can see distance, the drawback is that you lose close up vision unlike the Byakugan." Hinata explained, as Kurenai nodded.

"Okay Naruto, your turn." Kurenai prodded.

Naruto squeezed Hinata's hand and swallowed deeply. He then began to explain, "Well Kurenai-sensei, I can make hundreds if not a thousand shadow clones. The drawback to this jutsu is that my chakra is spread evenly between all of the clones. Using as much chakra as I do for my 'Transformation' jutsu I can make fifty 'Shadow shuriken' and I could do it all day. As Hinata-chan here explained the 'Eagle eye' jutsu can allow me to see about fifteen miles away, but I have real problems with seeing what is around me up to two hundred feet away using that technique."

Kurenai put her hands on her hips, turned to the Hokage and asked, "And you failed these two, why?"

"They failed the exam given by the academy," Sarutobi replied contritely.

"Yeah, after we had been sabotaged!" Naruto angrily replied, while he again fished out the ruined weapons and threw them on the Hokage's desk. "I was pulled out of class so often it is a wonder that I learned anything. With the use of my 'Transformation' jutsu I could go to the library and actually learn. The teachers gave everyone but me a book when I know damn well there were enough for me to take one home. The questions I got with genjutsu were of at least chunin level, heck you might not even have been able to answer some of them, old man!" Naruto stressed the 'old man' part.

"Given that you should have been able to overcome it," Sarutobi replied in a argumentative tone.

"I am terrible with chakra control and genjutsu. So how could I break a strong genjutsu without disrupting the class and getting kicked out of the test? Subtly is not always my strong suit, sure I can sneak around, but being subtle?" Naruto questioned.

"He does have a point Hokage-sama. If they want to wait another year I will take them on as their jounin sensei," Kurenai said.

Naruto and Hinata took heart from this revelation. "Very well Kurenai, you may go. Naruto and Hinata will you take my offer of another year at the academy?" Sarutobi asked, as both looked at each other and nodded to the Hokage. "Very well, I will make room for the two of you to attend again. Please go home and do not speak of the Kyuubi to anyone other than each other. Do I make myself clear?" He asked. Both children nodded as they left.

Naruto walked Hinata home, as it was very late and offered to meet her the next day for lunch at Ichiraku ramen shop. Hinata agreed quickly and entered the Hyuuga complex only to find her father and several elders waiting for her.

Naruto walked home feeling depressed, but also happy in the fact that he could still become a shinobi and that there was actually a girl out there that liked him and accepted him for holding the Kyuubi. Naruto had made it to the block he lived on when he was surrounded by several chunin. He was suddenly hit in the gut and across the face.

"Demon-brat, you caused a lot of problems tonight. Now we need to teach you a lesson," A chunin explained, as Naruto attempted to pick himself up off the ground only to be kicked in the gut. "Oh, no you don't get away that easily!" One of the brutes exclaimed.

Naruto was beaten for the next twenty minutes. He was left bleeding and broken, barely able to move, as he began to crawl to his apartment.

Hinata's happiness was shattered by the sight of her father and the elders. "Why are you returning so late and also why did you fail to pass the genin exams?" Her father asked coldly.

"Hinata-sama, did you not pass the academy exams?" One of the elders asked.

Hinata's head drooped. "No sir, I did not pass the exams," she replied sadly. She then looked up to see a tear fall from her father's eye.

"There is nothing you can do to save her now Hiashi. Take her to the chamber," the elder ordered, as a couple branch members sadly grabbed Hinata by the arms and dragged her away.

'I am sorry I could not save you Hinata-chan,' Hiashi thought, as he turned to go to his office, tears running down his face.

Screams were heard for an hour before they finally died down and an apparent quiet moved over the Hyuuga compound.

A/N: I know that some of you will not be able to comment because I am replacing a chapter instead of starting over.

Saru-chibi: While you may be right on her being able to live with only one-fourth of her chakra, there is also the chakra price for the technique itself. It would require more chakra than an academy student would more than likely have. Chuunin would have enough, but they wouldn't have enough left to be effective after the first clone. As for the actual cost of the technique, Kishmoto really didn't get too involved in giving us a real idea what techniques (Jutsu) cost for initializing and then maintaining them. There is the idea that using the hand seals is a way of weaving the chakra form and then there is the initial cost in chakra, type requirements included, and then maintenance requirements of said technique. I did like how one story (forgot which one, but would like to give the writer just rewards for thinking of this idea) where you break chakra down into units, each technique requires you to use said number of units, but to break it down to said number of units requires a certain level of control.

Lpride21: you said that Kakashi's students were the best trained because two made it to finals. I say you're comparing apples and oranges. Naruto and Sasuke made it there on pure luck. Here is the run down, Naruto on being able to fart at the right time and Sasuke, because he had a run in with Rock Lee before taking the first test. Look at Sakura, she knew only how to cancel a genjutsu, but not how to do an actual genjutsu and her fight was on par with Ino who had an admitted lazy sensei. Sure we don't know what exactly he taught them, but it wasn't that much. For all we know he spent most of his time reading a book and telling his 'students' to meditate, but not actually how to meditate. He may be a good teacher to those who are experienced, say a chuunin or higher, but fresh genin? I think not. While I do give Jiraiya some marks for improving Naruto, he could have done better, but also Naruto is a hard person to train, mostly because he has personal issues. Naruto had to deal with rejection all his life, thus the reason he latched on to Sakura and even with her pounding him, he refused to let her go, so in his mind she IS his girlfriend, no matter what she says. Also being so social inept, not his fault, he really doesn't know how to treat people. I blame the Hokage first and the village second. I hey, if they think he is the demon then treat him like a god or worry about suffering his wrath, AKA Gaara. So your idea that Kakashi was a good teacher because his students made the finals is a misnomer. He took, the easy way out, and relied on the natural skills and aptitude of his students. I mean look at Sakura, for a genius she is really an idiot, as are Sasuke and Neji. Heck most of the characters aren't all that smart. I mean Kakashi and Zabuza for all their touting being elite jounin, really didn't fight like you would expect an expert in silent killing technique (Zabuza), he talked way too much, and the man with a thousand jutsu (Kakashi), why not pull out some Earth jutsu to counter the water jutsu, and a Wind jutsu to blow the mist away. I mean come on… I will admit the fight was entertaining, but true masters would be better at killing off their opponents. The true downfall of a villain, his monologue…

Amadeus: I would agree with you about dropping the anvil, but also understand that this was one of my first stories and didn't think too much into the romance thing, sorry for chasing you away if I did. I didn't really fix it, but also have a real bad dislike of Sakura. Don't expect me to write a NaruSaku story… ever… lol, but I do try to follow her cannon to some extent. She at the time is a little girl and doesn't hide her emotions well especially with Naruto.

I included my old author's notes just for fun. Enjoy. Will be updated chapters as time permits.

Old A/N: I know kind of angsty, but hey I'm mad at Sarutobi for not doing more for Naruto and bringing in the favorite girl for Naruto is a bonus. It will get better in later chapters. This is just laying the ground work. Also for those who say Naruto was never beaten as a child, I didn't say that I'm just having the chuunin release some pent up anger at Naruto for having them search for him most of the night. Oh, yes Hinata is getting the caged bird seal, but there is a catch you will see later and the Hyuuga council will pay for their transgression later, you can count on it.

No there will be no team 7 until later and I'm still working out who will be with the pink banshee and emo king. Other teams will be set as I figure them out. Team 8 will have Kiba and Shino but another instructor and another teammate. Please judge on content and not how far this story strays from cannon as I'm not pleased with how any of the main characters have acted towards Naruto.

We can start with Sarutobi's total lack of finding real companionship for Naruto for whatever reason. Sakura for abusing him, yes she abused him and still does. Then we have Sasuke, who is only focusing on himself when he didn't take Kakashi's words to heart, but hey he is just a real jerk. Now we get to the lazy bastard of a teacher who doesn't even practice what he preaches. All the training he has done up to the point of his death was not as good as he could have done and early on seemed to be team focused but looking back it was not. If it was he would have spent more time developing Sakura's genjutsu and Naruto's ninjutsu and taijutsu. Naruto started at the bottom but worked his way to the top through his own with a little help from Jiraiya who should have looked over Naruto as his godfather. I know I'm rating about cannon but hey, there are too many incongruities.

Naruto suffers from 'battered wife's syndrome' and either ADD (Attention Deficient Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficient Hyper-active Disorder) by the way he accepts what Sakura, the village and other throw at him. He shows all the signs of ADHD, lots of energy and no focus, along with the extreme focus in certain areas with high intelligence. He is not wise mind you, but I'm sure his learning was sabotaged from an early age.

Sasuke suffers from another couple syndromes, first being 'shell shock', the murder of your entire clan could do that to you. Second is megalomania, his isn't mild. The real funny thing is that he comes off as a male who has no interest in women at all other than what they will do for him, and not in the way of continuing his clan. For all his proclamations of wanting to rebuild his clan, he instead goes from one target to another as his revenge kick keep going. Sure I'm sure Sakura and Karin would love to share him, but I'm not so sure about Ino. The funny thing is that Sasuke makes himself such an easy target for those of us writers in fan fiction.

Sorry for going on so long on this author's notes but hey either you like it or hate it no in between, okay maybe you might love it. The first chapter is specific about what I had the next chapter has the fall out. And what will happen with the extra scrolls Naruto pocketed? Find out in next chapter. Some are surprises others will be thought as predictable. Hey shoot me for having my muse write another story. Maybe you should shoot my muse. Hehehe….

The next chapter will be a little less agnsty and others afterwards should run the gamut.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto and I don't, but the story… well… um… um… never mind… just try to enjoy the chapter and send me PM if you want to talk about my comments.

Chapter 2 – A new beginning…

Naruto woke to find himself in the hospital. Sitting next to him was Iruka and at the drape separation for another bed sat Kurenai. She and Iruka didn't look happy. "Hi Iruka-sensei, Kurenai sensei." Naruto called out.

Both adults turned to the blonde with concerned looks on their faces. "As if Mizuki wasn't bad enough, both of you are now in the hospital," Iruka mumbled loud enough for Naruto to hear, as he heard a groan from the other side of the drapes.

"Yes, the same night that they beat a traitor down, both are struck down by their own people," Kurenai stated angrily as she pulled the drapes back to reveal Hinata in the other bed with a green tattoo on her forehead and sleepy eyes.

Naruto immediately attempted to jump out of bed only to be rewarded by a sharp pain from his side. He looked down to see his right arm in a cast and felt the wrapping around his ribs. Naruto groaned in pain as he reached towards Hinata with his left arm. She also reached out with her arm towards Naruto.

Kurenai chuckled and walked over to Iruka and whispered in his ear. After a moment he nodded and they walked towards the beds. Iruka pushed Naruto's bed towards Hinata's bed, as Kurenai pushed Hinata's bed towards Naruto's. Both beds clanked as they butted up against each other. Naruto reached over and grabbed Hinata's hand as she scooted into Naruto's bed, both wincing in pain.

"Now that's a cute couple if I've ever seen one," Kurenai commented.

Iruka grabbed several scrolls that were on Naruto's nightstand and handed them to him. "These were with your things and we wanted to make sure you got them. What happened, Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"I had nearly gotten home when I was attacked by a bunch of chuunin that complained that I had made their night difficult," Naruto responded, dejected and angry. Hinata gently squeezed Naruto as he winced at the pain but appreciated the attention. Confused Naruto asked, "Why is Hinata-chan in the hospital?"

Hinata began to sob into Naruto's chest. "The Hyuuga practice a sealing technique they use on the branch members of their family. It is so that their eyes and all that can be learned from them are destroyed when they die. Hinata was branded with this 'caged bird seal', and is now considered part of the branch family of the Hyuuga. It is usually done when they are younger so the pain is not as intense. Hinata will not be able to speak for a day or so. Just comfort her as best as you can, as it seems that she likes you Naruto, so please do what you can for her," Kurenai explained.

Naruto nodded as he hugged her gently, and her sobs lessened somewhat. "How can a family put seals on their kids? Now we both have them. I have a demon and she has that green seal on her head!" Naruto shouted, angrily attacking the unfairness of the whole situation.

"So Naruto what's in the scrolls? They do have yours and Hinata's names on them, I'm just wondering," Iruka questioned.

Naruto shook his head as he began to open the first scroll, but found that it was sealed. "I don't know what it is, and the darn thing won't open!" Naruto complained.

Iruka put out his hand. "Let me take a look at that," Iruka said, then looked at it and saw a pin on the end and an area for a thumb to go on the scroll. "Naruto, this is a seal. You will need to prick your thumb and then touch the area in the middle with your thumb. You then need to push a little chakra through your thumb, and it should open then." 'I wonder who would put a seal on a scroll for Naruto… It must have been the Hokage.'

Naruto followed the directions given to him by Iruka and when he pushed some chakra into the seal, it opened and the scroll unraveled. Naruto and Hinata began to read the scroll.

_Dear sweet Naruto-chan,_

_It must now be your tenth birthday and Sarutobi is giving you this as the first part of your inheritance. Naruto-chan, please believe me when I say that I'm sorry I am not there to share your birthday with you. Let me explain a few things to you before I continue. I am your mother Kushina Uzumaki of the Uzumaki clan from the Whirlpool village. You should be proud that you are someone so very important. I am sorry I was only able to share your fist few months or so with you. You are the most precious thing in my life. I hope Sarutobi and Hana have helped to take good care of you as Sarutobi did promise this for me, since I'm not going to make it much longer. Hana is your aunt and should be up to the job, since she has done it with me for the last couple of months. You should be living in the house with your aunt who is also a member of the clan. I hope they have treated you well, and tell Hana that she is an old bat for me. There is also the matter of your inheritance, you are the keeper of the Uzumaki clan holdings and it should be enough to let you skip being a shinobi if you choose until you are about thirty, though I would advise against it. I have also sealed my sword into this scroll for you. Please find someone to train you in the basics of how to use a sword, as you will receive the clan techniques in the scroll when you are fifteen and limited training from Hana just before you graduate, if you go to the academy that is. I'm so sorry that you have the burden that you carry, if Sarutobi has not told you yet, he now has permission to inform you about it. I hope you understand that you were loved. I wish so much that I could be there. Happy birthday, darling, I will always be there with you in spirit, always. _

_Your loving mother,_

_Kushina Uzumaki_

Naruto wept uncontrollably, as he was now twelve almost thirteen and the Third Hokage had not given his this scroll. Hinata shifted closer and wept with him. Iruka took the scroll gently and read it. He handed to Kurenai as his anger rose. Kurenai read the scroll and then set it on the stand after rolling it up, as her eyes also showed her inner rage. Kurenai and Iruka stayed with the children for the rest of the day and into the night.

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Naruto and Hinata were discharged two days later. No one from the Hyuuga clan had come to escort Hinata back to her home. Naruto had finally looked at the other scrolls he has 'acquired' when they had gotten the scroll of sealing. Naruto handed the one that was labeled for Hinata to her. She opened it and read the contents, then immediately fainted. Naruto, being worried, read it too, and joined her on the ground. Iruka, who had just arrived to walk Naruto home picked up the scroll and began to laugh as Kurenai arrived. She looked at the children and then at Iruka, who handed her the scroll, she joined in the laughter.

_Dear Hinata-chan,_

_As a tenth birthday present to you, your father and I are giving you a wonderful gift. We are also giving you safety from the caged bird seal. You are hereby betrothed to a one Naruto Uzumaki, you may want to get to know the boy or you can just accept the betrothal. You may also reject this betrothal when you turn fifteen and seek another suitor, but I must warn you that the council will have say over any other suitor you may end up with. Please be happy with Naruto-kun as he will have had a hard life and remember that we both love you. _

_Airi Hyuuga. _

Iruka had placed the two children against the entryway of the hospital and waited for them to wake up, only he placed Hinata in Naruto's arms in an affectionate way. "Iruka-san, why do you tease them so?" Kurenai asked in mild laughter.

"He has had it so bad I just thought he should have something good to wake up too. It isn't every day you find out the girl who likes you turns is the girl to which you're betrothed. I do wonder why they did it? Naruto is an orphan without family, and I know he is part of a nearly dead clan now, but that still puts him at a lower station than Hinata. I would have figured that they would have put her in a marriage with a higher noble or a more notable clan. I know there is animosity between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha so they would be out of the question, but there are other clans out there, or even a noble within the Hyuuga clan," Iruka pondered the question he posed.

Kurenai laughed happily. "Haven't you heard the saying 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth', Iruka-san?" she asked, looking fondly over at Naruto and Hinata.

Naruto woke up, then realized there was a mop of hair in his face and felt a weight on his chest. He smiled but wondered how Hinata had ended up on his chest. The only thing he could remember was seeing Hinata faint, then reading the note and then fainting himself. There were things that bothered him. 'If what was put in the scroll is accurate then they should have never put the caged bird seal upon her as she was already betrothed. Now she would be considered damaged, but not to me, since we are now more alike than we were before. I am sorry Hinata-chan. You failed because the damn fox that is sealed inside of me,' Naruto thought to himself sadly.

"Naruto, what are you going to do with this information?" Iruka asked Naruto as Kurenai also wondered.

"I don't know. The old man kept this from us and I almost believe that he may never have wanted me to see these scrolls at all." Naruto said glumly as he fished the first scroll from his mother out of his pocket, then continued, "I think I am going to read the other scroll as it is supposed to be for my fifteenth birthday but until then I should be able to keep the information secret." Naruto fished the second scroll out and began to read his expression changed several times, from tears to out and out anger. "Why the hell didn't he tell me this? Damn it!" Naruto cursed.

Iruka and Kurenai wore confused looks as Hinata was woken by Naruto's angry outburst. "Tell you what?" Iruka and Kurenai asked in unison.

"We can't discuss this here. We'll go to Hinata's house and get her set, and then go to my house. She can come along to my place if she likes, so that she can also hear about it," Naruto explained as he continued to wear an angry look. Naruto knew this information would come to no good if it became common knowledge.

Hinata stood and helped Naruto up. The group moved through town to the Hyuuga estate only to find a small collection of scrolls waiting outside the estate with Hiashi sitting on the porch his eyes red and swollen. Hinata looked at her father with both anger and concern. "What is it, father?" Hinata asked angrily, Hiashi winced as 'father' was drawn out by Hinata.

Hiashi turned his saddened face towards Hinata and Naruto, but could not look them directly in the eyes. "You both must think ill of me. I am sorry for both of you. I am sorry I couldn't stop the council from branding you, and worse yet they have also banished you from the estate. They wanted to leave a branch member to explain to you what was going on, but I sent them away so that I could do that myself. Hinata-chan, you are now disowned by the clan, but not by me. I also have information for you," Hiashi said sadly, he then looked at Naruto, and continued. "You're betrothed to this very boy here and you may stay with him if you like. I will make sure you have money, but I can't help you otherwise as the council will remove me from my position as head and brand both myself and your sister. Here are the scrolls with your belongings in them. I also included a detailed scroll on the workings of the caged bird seal, Naruto if you could learn about seal and either alter or remove the seal I would be most gracious." Hiashi stated as he handed Hinata a handful of scrolls.

Naruto stepped forward and took the scrolls as Hinata was frozen with shock. "What happened to Hana?" Naruto asked out of the blue.

Hiashi took a deep breath and then sighed. "She died defending you when you were just two. She… she died in the fire at the Uzumaki mansion," he answered with a heavy feeling in his heart.

Naruto looked down as tears fell to the ground. "They would kill the woman that was there to protect me and burn my house down just to try to kill the fox?" Naruto growled as he clenched his right hand only to have blood begin to fall from it.

"How do you know of that?" Hiashi asked.

"Naruto-kun and I both learned that he is the container of the Kyuubi the other night, when we defeated Mizuki-sensei," Hinata responded as moved to rub Naruto's back.

"Why do they hate me and those who care about me so? I'm not the damn fox," Naruto stated in a low growling voice.

"I know that, Naruto, and that is why Airi and I betrothed you to Hinata-chan. It was sort of a reward, in a sense and a way to muzzle those who thought of you as a monster. We set it up so that she could marry you and thus calm those in the clan to not hate you, Naruto. I know the council went back on its word and branded her but that is why I am giving you the information so that you may be able to alter or fix the seal. I would just avoid main house members, Hinata-chan," Hiashi explained.

Naruto handed a scroll to Hiashi. "How much of this did you know?" Naruto asked angrily.

Hiashi read the scroll and then sighed as he closed the scroll. "I knew most if not all. You're not supposed to receive this until your fifteenth birthday. How did you come by it?" he asked.

"I acquired it when we took the forbidden scroll, along with the ones meant for Hinata-chan and I that we were supposed to get on our tenth birthdays," Naruto admitted with anger and sadness in his eyes.

"Well son, you are incredible that you have done so well given your circumstances. You may marry my daughter with my blessing, just be kind to her, as she has a gentle heart. Just know that I will support you in anything you do other than destroying the village that is." Hiashi stated with a smirk, and then added, "I must return to my paperwork. I wish you luck my daughter and future son-in-law." Hiashi hugged both of them, he then turned and entered the estate.

"Naruto what is on that scroll?" Kurenai inquired.

"We'll discuss it when we reach my apartment." Naruto stated as he pocketed the scrolls.

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A while later the group came upon Naruto's apartment. "Guess you're going to be living with me, Hinata-chan. Sorry about the mess but it's all I have," Naruto said as he opened the door and entered as the others quickly followed. The apartment was a one-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen, a bed in the bedroom, a folding table, and a couple of chairs. Kurenai looked around and saw that the place was quite tidy for a bachelor's home, but she noticed a lack of much to clutter the place with other than the empty food containers on the table.

"Naruto, why do you have so many empty ramen containers on your table?" Kurenai asked.

"And why do you have so much expired and spoiled food in your fridge?" Iruka asked as he perused the fridge.

"Well I didn't have time to clean and that is all the markets will sell me," Naruto responded as he began to clean the containers off the table. A cockroach ran out from under one of the containers. Naruto looked at it with a bit of annoyance, and grumbled, "Dang bugs, I wish I could get rid of them, but I just can't seem to bring myself to kill them."

"I know of someone who might be able to help you get rid of them." Kurenai responded, and then asked, "The markets refuse to sell you good food? Is it because of your tenant?"

"That's my guess. Yet again another way the fox is ruining my life without having to do anything," Naruto stated as he finished washing the table, he then apologized, "Sorry I don't have enough chairs but I don't get many guests and the old man didn't get me any other furniture."

Iruka sighed at the revelation that Naruto's life was harder than he had thought before. He looked into the bedroom and saw the sheets were threadbare and a stack of scrolls against the wall. He also saw a large pile of used weapons. "Naruto, what is with the collection of weapons?" he asked.

Naruto smiled at the question. "You know, shinobi really are wasteful, so I go around to all the training grounds and collect all the leftover weapons that are in good condition that they just seem to leave everywhere," he explained.

Kurenai and Iruka were impressed with Naruto's ingenuity. "Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked quietly as Kurenai nodded to her. "Is it bad that I have to live with Naruto-kun before we are married? And what can we do to eliminate the infestation? I know it isn't really Naruto-kun's fault," Hinata asked.

Kurenai knelt down to Hinata. "We will take care of it if we have to pay for the work. Don't you worry, as you are going to have a life with the boy you love. Just don't have any children anytime soon. Because you're both too young," Kurenai warned as Hinata blushed profusely, she then added, "We do need to talk to the Hokage about what happened though."

Naruto reentered the room with Iruka and noticed Hinata red color. "Is she alright? Is she sick?" Naruto asked worriedly.

Kurenai laughed as she stood up. "No Naruto, she is embarrassed. If she is that color around you, more often than not, she's just blushing, it's a natural reaction. It is a sign of her liking you, and she is just too embarrassed to show you. Don't worry. It will lessen as she spends more time with you. It may never go away though," Kurenai admitted.

Hinata nodded to the proclamation. "I will tell you when I don't feel good Naruto-kun. It's just a little much for me to take in, that the boy I have liked for so long is going to be my husband and that I am going to be living with him," she explained.

"I know. I'm sort of blown away by all of this too. Oh, you will want to know what is in the second scroll. I am so pissed at the old man now!" Naruto exclaimed, as he handed Hinata the scroll, which she read along with Iruka and Kurenai.

_Dear Naruto-kun,_

_This is your mother again. Now that you are fifteen, there are few more things that I must tell you. First, you're a jinchuuriki, a human sacrifice, if they have not already explained it to you already. This means that a demon has been sealed within you. Don't worry, for you are not the demon just the container of it. I'm so sorry about this. You also may not be happy with the second bit of news I'm going to give you. It was your father who sealed the demon fox within you, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Please don't be angry with him, as he thought it was the only way to protect the village. There is good news though! I have talked with the Hyuuga who just had a daughter and they have agreed to betroth their daughter to you as way of thanking you for protecting the village. They figure they will have another in a few years but I'm sorry, as I will not be able to see that happen. Hana has agreed to keep you safe and make sure that you notice her when you both grow old enough to meet each other. Know this Naruto-kun, your father and I both loved you and wanted the best for you. Sarutobi has assured me that when I am gone you will be taken care of. I am sorry that I will not be there for you when you have your fist and now your fifteenth birthday. My only regret is how the village feels about us and the sacrifice we have had to make for them. Do not seek revenge for what has happened as it will come to no good and only destroy you in the end. If you have not met Jiraiya yet seek him out to train you as he did your father. Also seek a woman known as Tsunade. Tell her, I sent you, and say, 'it is true'. She will know what you mean and should take you in to her home. Live a long and happy life, my son._

_With love from your mother,_

_Kushina Uzumaki Namikaze._

Iruka and Kurenai looked at Naruto then back at the note. The boy was the son of the Yondaime Hokage, but no one had pieced the facts together. Naruto had the same hair as the Fourth, the same grin when he smiled, and he may not have been a genius but he was still quite bright. The biggest glaring point is that he was chosen by the Fourth to hold the Kyuubi. He would have chosen his son before he would have chosen anyone else. Now it all made sense. "Why didn't I see it all before?" Iruka asked quietly.

"Why didn't anyone see it before? I guess we all just wanted to see what we saw and nothing more. I understand some of why he wouldn't have been told, as it would protect him from Iwa wanting to kill him for what his father did during the war, but why allow him lead such a pathetic and downtrodden life?" Kurenai questioned.

"Maybe he was angry that my father left him to do all that paperwork. I don't know but I am currently so pissed that I want to leave this village. As far as I can see I will never be allowed to become Hokage. I am betting that even if we go to the academy for another year we will not be allowed to complete the exam and become genin!" Naruto growled in an angry voice.

Hinata finished reading the scroll, and found a note hidden further down the scroll. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun but, there is something more here for you." Hinata said, as she handed Naruto the note as he read it.

_Dear little Naruto-kun,_

_It is with much sadness and grief that I have to tell you that your mother died from poisoning. The Hokage did not investigate it and I am very angry with him. I threatened to leave the village and take you with me. Also, the promised protection has yet to show up, as you have been attacked several times during your short life already by irate villagers. It was nothing serious other than bottles being thrown at you, but those could be dangerous! The Hokage did decree that you were to no longer be harmed, but I fear that the villagers will continue to attack you, as you grow older. Here are the directions to our house if you are taken from it. I have also included a detailed floor plan for both your mother's and your father's houses. Be safe my little Naruto-kun, as we are the last of our clan. Also, you will need some blood to open your father's lockers to get the scrolls and open the secret doors. I have given these scrolls to Sarutobi in the off chance the something might happen to them so he should give you them at the appropriate time._

_Your aunt,_

_Hana Uzumaki_

Naruto broke down at that point and wept, his mother was murdered and his aunt died for him in a fire. Hinata enfolded him in a hug as he continued to cry into her shoulder. Iruka and Kurenai unsealed the directions to the two residences and left the room. Both returned about an hour later and presented several scrolls to Naruto who now lay on the bed asleep on Hinata's lap, then left the two for a while so they could rest.

-----------------

Iruka and Kurenai returned about an hour later. Naruto slowly woke as Iruka gently shook him. "We got all we could from your family's homes. There may be more but the Hokage would have access to that," Iruka explained.

Naruto huffed as he looked at the scrolls. "Thank you for your help, I guess we will have to go see to the old man. What do you say Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Why are you asking me Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, confused.

"Because, if you are going to be my wife then you and I will have to make decisions together, right?" Naruto proclaimed.

Hinata chuckled and then blushed. "Yes Naruto-kun, we need to make them together. I say we need to talk to the Hokage about this. He has denied both you and I, that which we were entitled to receive almost three years ago," she said, as a determined look came over her eyes.

Naruto sheepishly looked at Iruka and Kurenai. "Would you guys come with us as witnesses?" he asked.

Iruka looked confused. "Don't you trust the Hokage anymore Naruto?" he inquired.

Naruto shook his head vigorously as he got off the bed. "No, actually, I don't. He has come to see me once a month since I was five. The orphanage kicked me out when I turned four. I've lived on the streets for a whole year before he helped me. I know he was busy but would the village do the same thing to his grandson?" he asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"No, Konohamaru has Asuma to take care of him if Sarutobi-sama passes away," Kurenai replied.

"And I had Hana, but she died. I was then left on the streets for a year and then, finally I was put in an orphanage, more than likely to be forgotten," Naruto said, as his comment cut deeply into both Kurenai and Iruka. They were beginning to believe that Naruto's faith in the Hokage was beginning to break, if it had not already been broken. Naruto then continued, "Then he glosses over things that we pointed out about a rigged academy exam. The precious Uchiha gets to coast by with cheating and having the instructors help him, while Hinata-chan and I are left to be taken away by the wind! Now we find out that he doesn't even give us scrolls that we were supposed to get years ago. What am I supposed to think?"

"Well… he may have forgotten about the scrolls." Iruka replied in an attempt to defend the Hokage.

Naruto put his hands on his hips. "I have an orange jumpsuit that screams 'here I am, kill me' as the gift he got me for my birthday, the goggles are a gift I found on doorstep on my birthday a couple years ago," he said as he adjusted the goggles. He smiled and said, "I have to admit, though, the goggles look good on me. I've gotta find out who gave 'em to me!"

Hinata blushed and raised her hand while she got off the bed. "I got you those, Naruto-kun. I was afraid to approach you, so I left them by your door," Hinata shyly admitted.

Naruto looked at her and walked over and kissed her on the cheek. Hinata fainted back on to the bed. Naruto looked confused as he began to worry. "Did I break her?" he asked, actually afraid that he might have hurt her.

Iruka and Kurenai both laughed at Naruto. "No, Naruto, you didn't break her. She's just not used to close contact, and she was overloaded by what you did too her." Kurenai answered.

"What did I do to her?" Naruto asked, as he still didn't understand.

Iruka smiled and rubbed his finger under his nose, and answered, "Naruto, she likes you a lot. She isn't used to close intimate contact, and you just kissed her. It's more like you made her dreams come true, and she can barely handle it."

"Oh no, Hiashi told us not to have children anytime soon! Now I've done it! I'm too young to be a father!" Naruto exclaimed in a panic.

Iruka grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "That's not how babies are made, Naruto. We will have that talk in a few days, so that when you and Hinata actually marry you will be prepared. Mizuki taught that class. You weren't in it were you?" Iruka asked as Naruto nodded his head and Kurenai rolled her eyes.

"Did anyone other than you do anything right for the boy, Iruka-san?" Kurenai asked.

"I'm not sure. Most of the other teachers kept Naruto on a short leash. The progress reports said he was behind but doing fine," Iruka replied.

"They would kick me out of class for asking questions, ignore me if I raised my hand to either answer a question or ask one, so I had lots of fun in class," Naruto stated sarcastically, then added, "Let's go see the old man now before I decide to pull a jutsu and give him a heart attack."

The three of them waited for Hinata to wake up, and then the four of them walked towards the Hokage tower as Naruto glared back at those who gave him dirty looks. This cause several civilians cringe in fear, but others began to chuckle along with Iruka and Kurenai as they made it to the tower. The group was let in after only a five-minute wait. They passed Sarutobi's old teammates as they entered the office. "Ah, Naruto to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Sarutobi asked with a smile.

Naruto pulled the note from Hana out and put it on the Hokage's desk. "So when were you going to tell me?"

Sarutobi sighed, "Well, you see Naruto…"

Naruto slammed his hand on the desk. "Don't lie to me old man! I know my mother lived for around six months after I was born! You rescued me after I lived for a year on the streets! So why didn't you investigate the fire and how my aunt died? Or even my mother's death for that matter?" he demanded angrily.

"Naruto, to be Hokage, you must understand about politics. I was forced to close those investigations," Sarutobi explained.

Naruto wore a hurt look. "You didn't even come to see me after those chuunin beat me up after the scroll incident. That hurt old man, it really hurt and now I find out that you kept my things from me. What happened on my tenth birthday?" he asked.

"Nothing much, let's see… Other than the festival, oh and then taking you out for ramen, nothing really," Sarutobi answered.

"So you forgot about this?" Naruto asked, as he pulled out the scroll he was supposed to receive on his tenth birthday, but hadn't.

"You were not supposed to get that," Sarutobi explained.

"Why? Is it because I have clan status? Or is it because I am the son of a Hokage? Or is it just because I am the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and the bastards on the council don't want me to receive my birthright? It was my mother's dying wish that I receive this on my tenth birthday. So I'll ask you again, why?" Naruto asked as he seethed from the anger that was welling up with in him. Hinata noticed this and placed her hand upon Naruto's arm, calming him considerably.

"And were you ever going to allow me to find out that I was betrothed to Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked with veiled contempt.

"You didn't only take the forbidden scroll of sealing, did you Naruto?" Sarutobi asked.

Naruto shook his head. "How can I trust anyone anymore? You lied to me, and you held out on me. I am sure now that my inheritance is nearly gone. My mother's house is burned to the ground, along with the life of my aunt. So, yes, I did take more than just that scroll. How long were you going to keep telling me that my parents died in the Kyuubi attack?" Naruto pleaded for an answer.

"You didn't seem ready to learn the truth," Sarutobi explained.

"The truth? The truth is that my mother lived through the attack, as did my aunt. They were both murdered and you didn't lift a finger to help them! In my book, that makes you an accomplice! Did you think that you were helping me by not allowing me to know I was loved?" Naruto asked.

"You are loved," Sarutobi claimed.

"Well not by you! You lied to me, covered up the murder of both my mother and aunt, denied me a place in the ranks of the shinobi, and kept the fact that I'm to be betrothed to Hinata-chan from both of us!" Naruto shouted, and began to cry as his resolve broke. He next said in a hurt voice, "You didn't even try to help me with the villagers. They always look at me with such hatred."

Hinata pulled Naruto into a hug as she glared at the Hokage. "As citizens we are free to come and go as we please, correct?" she asked.

Sarutobi sighed again. "Not really, you are trained and know forbidden secrets of this village making you prime targets for our enemies. If you were caught and revealed your secrets you might put lives in danger," he explained.

Hinata was not pleased. "You deny us our birthright, and you allow Naruto-kun to be persecuted for something his own father did to him! To save the village I might add! You hide the facts of two murders and think that your betrayal is nothing! To top it off, the academy tells us to trust those in authority. We do so and are punished for our loyalty. This village should have been leveled by the Kyuubi!" Hinata exclaimed.

Sarutobi rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You are talking treason, Hinata-chan," he replied.

"No, I am talking justice. Naruto had no ability to stop what happened to him, and now you force him to be a prisoner in his own village, a village that hates him, save a few," Hinata scolded Sarutobi as she looked kindly at Iruka and Kurenai. "How much of his inheritance is left?"

Sarutobi shook his head. 'This is going to be one big headache,' he thought to himself, and then answered, "Not that much."

"So, this village has not only killed his relatives, scorned him, and beat him, but it has also stolen from him!" Hinata accused.

"When you put it that way…" Sarutobi attempted to explain only to be cut off by the angry Hyuuga girl.

"My husband-to-be is distraught by what has happened in the last few days. You should be ashamed of yourself. How can you allow a village to take advantage of a hero like him?" Hinata inquired.

"Well, part of the problem is that Naruto's inheritance was deducted from the pranks he pulled and all items that he stole," Sarutobi answered.

"Have you seen his apartment? He has old and expired food. He has few, if any belongings. So what is it said that he has stolen?" Hinata defended.

"The list actually is quite large. It covers everything from food to weapons, and even furniture," Sarutobi answered.

"He has two chairs, a table, a bed, a dresser, and some very old appliances. Where is he hiding these so-call stolen items?" Hinata inquired.

Sarutobi glared at Iruka and Kurenai who both put their hands up in submission. "Hinata, you are saying that there is a conspiracy to steal from Naruto?" he asked.

"I say there is and you are part of it, if not an active part, then you are an unwitting participant. Naruto-kun does not steal. He has acquired things that others throw away, and pulls pranks on those that anger him, but he has not stolen," Hinata defended.

Naruto squeezed Hinata and whispered "Thanks" into her ear. Naruto turned embracing Hinata and looked at the Hokage. "I want what is mine. I didn't steal and I want to face my accusers. Hell, I don't even get to go into many stores! Most chase me out unless you are there with me! It has been more than a year since I got any new clothes! I love orange, but this jumpsuit is almost like a death sentence! Are you trying to kill me?" he asked. Sarutobi winced, as Naruto had just implied that the Hokage might actually have wanted him dead.

"No Naruto, I don't want you dead. As for your inheritance, I will look into it. Am I to assume that you want to leave the village?" Sarutobi asked with a sad voice.

"For a little while, maybe. I need to clear my head and get to know Hinata-chan more, as we're supposed to eventually get married. I'm just disappointed that you didn't trust me enough to give me what my mother wanted me to have," Naruto stated with a tremble in his voice.

"The academy is out for a few months. You can both take that time to figure out what you want to do. I will fix your inheritance issues for you. Come back safe. I was forced to not allow you to pass the academy exams by a law passed by the Nindaime Hokage. If we were at war, I could have made an exception, but we are not at war, so I cannot pass you unless you accomplish something in the field during your break," Sarutobi explained. "Is there anything else you want me to investigate while you are away?"

"Yes there is. Are there any messages from my father? I already have two from my mother," Naruto replied.

"I will look. So you got the one for your fifteenth birthday too, I see. The council is happy you didn't graduate. I am sure you know that," Sarutobi explained.

"I'm sure that they're happy that Sasuke passed with flying colors also. After all, they did all they could to make sure he passed by cheating!" Naruto accused.

"You cannot prove that, can you?" Sarutobi inquired.

"Check my test and check his. Also check the target dummy. As for him cheating at taijutsu, you will have to just take the word of Hinata-chan, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and myself, otherwise you are as corrupt as the others in your so-called honorable council who have stolen from me," Naruto stated.

"You are not as dumb as you pretend to be, are you?" Sarutobi asked as Naruto shook his head. "I will look into all the matters we have discussed today. I wish you a happy journey on your vacation. I will also have Kurenai go with you to the bank and have them draw some funds for your vacation. I just hope you don't make it a honeymoon, for I wish to attend the wedding," Sarutobi said with a smile as both Naruto and Hinata scowled at the old man.

The group left the tower and headed to the bank. Naruto opened the door for everyone as they went to enter. The guard let everyone in but grabbed Naruto as he walked into the bank. "Hey, what are you doing?" Naruto yelled as the guard lifted him up off the ground.

"You demon, are not allowed in here." The guard explained as he felt his legs collapse from underneath him.

"You will not touch Naruto-san again. Under the orders of the Hokage you will now release him or face me," Kurenai stated. The man looked at the jounin and at Hinata who looked angrily at him. He guessed the Hyuuga girl had knocked his legs out from under him but he also faced a jounin so he let Naruto go.

The bank manager came over to the incident to see what was going on and saw the blonde in orange. "What is going on over here? Oh, him. He is not allowed in here," he said with a scowl.

"Are there any accounts left for the Uzumaki clan?" Iruka asked.

"Yes but they are being held by the council for reparations for what that monster did," The manager answered.

"You understand that I am a jounin, and he is a chuunin?" Kurenai asked in a dark voice as the manager nodded. She then added, "Then you will help out and accommodate us, or I will inform the Hokage that this bank is holding funds that rightfully belong to this boy. He will not be pleased. He will go over your books and if we find one, just one shu missing from his account, they will not find you, ever."

"There is no need to make threats, I am sure his account is in good order. Come to my office so that we do not scare off my other customers," the manager stammered. He led the group to a back office where he left them for about ten minutes, he then returned with a large set of ledgers with a 'U' on them. He brought them into his office. He opened them and paled immediately. Kurenai grinned at the man's discomfort.

"Is there anything wrong?" Kurenai asked as she smiled politely from her chair.

The man began to sweat profusely. "Well there do seem to be some errors and closed accounts, I will need some time to look into them," he replied nervously.

Iruka looked angrily at the man, and asked, "How many Uzumaki accounts are there?"

The man swallowed hard. "There were about forty, now there are only two left, a one Kushina and a Hana Uzumaki. All the other accounts were closed about six years ago. All at once, but I know that they all died before that. The last living Uzumaki, other than the boy there died about eight years ago, a one Hana Uzumaki. And both accounts have had recent withdrawals. I will look into this. So the boy is claiming to be an Uzumaki? What evidence does he present that he is one?" The manager asked.

Naruto showed the scroll and that it was a blood scroll. "This is a scroll left to me by my mother, Kushina Uzumaki," he explained.

The man swallowed deeply. "If your mother was Kushina then you are a well-to-do young man. How much would you like to take out today?" he asked.

Naruto smirked and looked at Hinata, he then asked, "How much would it take to make it so that you and the guard lose your jobs?"

The man paled. "Um… well… you see… I never hated you… the council just forbade us from dealing with you," he stammered out, obviously lying.

Hinata smirked. "You didn't answer his question," she stated.

The man seemed to regain his composure for a minute. "You are a branch member of the Hyuuga and therefore are not involved in this," he said smugly.

Naruto growled at the man. "You will not treat my fiancé that way. She is Hinata Hyuuga, former heiress to the Hyuuga clan. If you wish to live past today, you will treat her with respect," Naruto threatened, as his eyes became purple with slits for pupils.

The man jumped and ran behind Iruka who just began to laugh. "Don't let the demon get me!" the manger cried out in fear.

"You lied! I just want to take some money out for a vacation and to treat Hinata-chan to a nice dinner! If you can't do that for me then I will go talk to the Hokage! Do I need to talk to him?" Naruto inquired angrily.

Kurenai stood and smiled evilly. "No need Naruto-san, I think Iruka-san and I can take care of him," she said a little too happily.

The man moved behind his desk and started to cry. "No, please, I will fix it, I promise. Every shu will be accounted for and all the clan holdings will be transferred into his new account. Please don't kill me. How much do you and your lovely fiancé think you will need for a nice vacation?" the man pleaded as he cowered from behind his desk. Naruto, Hinata, Iruka and Kurenai all left the bank with a scroll and smirks. The bank Manager was found several hours later, hanging from the ceiling by wires.

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A/N: I am so surprised by the reactions of readers to my comments from last chapter. The funny part is I got more reviews for comments on "MY" opinion and how I was wrong about it. Well hate to burst some of your bubbles, but it is MY opinion and I'm right even if I'm wrong as it is my opinion. Now, on to other things. The first chapter and this chapter were somewhat angsty as that is what I planned for the chapters. Chapter 3 is more fun. Also things will have changed in this story compared to cannon.

For those who stick to cannon and feel stories should stick to that… well, too bad. That is why this is a FAN FICTION. The characters are based on the manga, and maybe even the beginning of the storyline, but after that it becomes AU, so deal with it. Like my stories, hate my stories, but one thing you can't deny is that you have read up to this point in my story. If that is the case then I have done what I set out to do, which is to make an interesting story.

I know there are a ton of fans that like the light happy Naruto. Well, great, there are quite a few stories like that. I'm not trying to make a Naruto that will burn down the village, but I will call into question how he is treated and, of course, tweak it to my advantage. I have read hundreds of other author's stories. Some have great storylines, but couldn't spell or their grammar just plain sucks. I try my best to put out a good story. And to those of you who are worried that I will abandon my stories, I will not, unless I either die or I get enough hate mail to do a quick ending. Not my first choice, as I have seen several readers who insult the writers personally, the writer, not the story, I had a few but pushed on and have a few stories that are well liked. 'Uzumaki of the Whirlpool' and 'The Avatar and the Demon' are examples of that. I also have stories that have limited readership, 'Priestess and Lavender love' and 'Naruto Happyness'. The reader love both of these types of stories. I also have some reader requested and challenge stories, 'The missing Hokage' and 'The sound of a fox howling at the moon' (soon to be out, reader requested) stories. Then there is this one, one I wrote because I want to have a fun angsty story and one that pokes fun at Sarutobi for his incompetence at dealing with Naruto, and, again, this is my opinion.

If you look at Team 7 it is the most dysfunctional family you could ever have. Please, do not argue this point, as I know a dysfunctional family, since I had one. Oh, and for those of you who argue that Naruto doesn't have ADHD, give me a break. I'm ADHD and, was like that as a kid. Added to that, the fact that he was not given attention, which he so desperately needs from the village. Go to all the flashbacks with the villagers either ignoring him or just turning their backs on him. I'm sure that Naruto has an IQ of more than 130. Sure he isn't Shikamaru, but he is bright. He just needed guidance, as a child which he sorely lacked. My guess is that both the geniuses Sasuke and Neji would rank at 110 (Sasuke) and 125 (Neji). I agree both were screwed in the head but they weren't smart enough in how to deal with the situation. Sasuke has yet to prove to me in cannon that he rates above a 105, heck some of the most boring and average people do well in school. Real geniuses have problems in school, as it is tailored to those that excel from book learning. Naruto is tactile-kinesthetic; this means he leans by doing, thus why the Kage Bunshin is perfect for him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Chance meeting…

Naruto and Hinata got a hotel room that evening, as they were tired, and Hinata didn't want to be near the apartment that night. Naruto sadly agreed with her and he asked Kurenai and Iruka to do something about the bugs in their apartment. Kurenai agreed, but also ordered Iruka to teach Naruto about 'the birds and the bees', or there would be consequences. Iruka reluctantly agreed to do it the next evening.

Naruto and Hinata went shopping for some clothes, so that they could go and spend a few nights in the hotel before they left the village for several months. Iruka accompanied them to make sure that the merchants didn't either refuse service or overcharge the two. Naruto and Hinata agreed to sleep in the same bed, as they were to be married. Naruto quickly fell asleep and began to gently snore and Hinata just watched him sleep, a smile crossing her lips as she lay down beside him and fell into blissful sleep herself.

The next day was spent shopping for essential clothes, which caused Naruto to blush, as Kurenai walked Naruto and Hinata into the lingerie section of a clothing store. Naruto had yet to see Hinata in less than a light nightgown. While he was sure that Hinata was pretty underneath, he was surprised that she was so developed for a twelve-year-old girl. Hinata had seemed to have broken out of her shell over the past few days, and while she still blushed profusely when close to Naruto, her stuttering and near fainting spells no longer affected her. Naruto did wonder why she was blushing the night before when he came out of the bathroom, and why she had her Byakugan active. Naruto also was dreading the talk he and Iruka were going to have after lunch.

Naruto and Hinata entered the hotel room to find Iruka in the living room with a stack of books. Naruto swallowed hard as he saw how many books he had to cover. Iruka moved the books into the bedroom to give them some privacy, while Hinata and Kurenai moved to the small kitchen and prepared some food for dinner, as they figured this would take a while. After an hour, Hinata became worried, and she heard Naruto scream "What?" and later Iruka yell "Naruto are you all right?" Kurenai put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her that it would be all right.

Iruka left the bedroom an hour later with a sheepish grin on his face. "Well… that is done. He now knows what sex is. I have to say that he had a really naive idea of where babies came from and how they were made. I'm not sure how this information will affect him, but he should be okay in a day or so. My only warning is that he will either become a pervert, or he'll hurt them very badly, if he meets any," Iruka explained.

Naruto spent the rest of the day locked in their bedroom after Iruka had explained 'the birds and the bees' to him. Naruto was so embarrassed that he actually avoided contact with Hinata if he could. After one night sleeping in the same bed he could no longer stand being there, as he was afraid of what might happen. Iruka and Kurenai finally came over, at the behest of Hinata, to try to fix any misunderstandings that Naruto had, and there were quite a few. Naruto was afraid of becoming a pervert, and ruining himself, as many adult males had done. He was afraid that since he knew his sexy jutsu, he was actually a pervert. Kurenai laughed at this, as she thought he was the 'anti-pervert' for exposing them and using their own weakness against them.

Naruto and Hinata left the village a couple days later. Kurenai reported that the bank manager was now having a visit with Ibiki, and that the funds were mostly accounted for. There was still some investigation into how several of the accounts were closed all at once, but this was an on-going investigation, with the Hokage pushing for an actual answer. This made Naruto a little happier, seeing as Sarutobi was actually doing something to help them instead of hinder them.

Kurenai accompanied them as a C-ranked mission. The Hokage authorized it to be on the village's tab for guard duty for one month. They left on their vacation to a nice coastal village and enjoy some time away from the Konoha.

The first day outside the village, she gave Naruto and Hinata an assessment test, and found that they were competent and would have made good genin team. Hinata had changed her outfit to a light lavender kimono that was easily removed to reveal a lavender shirt and pants that were dark purple, so dark they were almost black. Naruto wore a white hakama and a black uwagi with an orange Uzumaki symbol on the front and the back.

The three had made it a couple days out only to run into a group of bandits. Much to the bandit's surprise, these targets could actually fight back. That day, Naruto and Hinata actually made their first kills. One of the bandits was just about to hit Hinata with a sword, only to have Naruto push a kunai into his chest, opening a hole in the man's heart. Hinata was next to kill, when Naruto went into shock over his first kill, another man was going to take off Naruto's head, but missed, as Hinata pushed a gentle fist attack in to the man's brain. The man died instantly, Naruto's man lingered for a few moments, and Kurenai was able to dispatch the other ten bandits with little trouble.

Kurenai noticed that Hinata was only slightly disturbed by her first kill, but Naruto had collapsed to his knees as he looked at body of the dead bandit. Hinata was finally affected, and moved to the side of the road, only to lose her lunch there. Kurenai walked over to Naruto and placed her hand on his back, only to have him jump at the touch. "Are you okay Naruto?" Kurenai asked in a kind and gentle voice.

Naruto looked blankly into Kurenai's eyes. "What have I done?" he asked, thoroughly frightened.

Kurenai smiled and gently hugged the boy. "You defended your wife-to-be from death. That is what you have done," she answered warmly.

Naruto finally dropped the kunai. "But… but… I was told it would be easy to kill someone," Naruto spat out in disgust. He quickly exclaimed, "I feel horrible!"

Her then bolted up and ran to the side of the road next to Hinata, only to join her in the regurgitating of their lunches.

Kurenai moved behind the two and rubbed their backs. "It's never easy to kill, nor should it be. I would worry if it were, as you would have lost your humanity. I am proud of both of you. Take what you have learned, and remember this. Had you not killed them, they would have killed you. It will become easier, now that you have had your first kills, but if you ever lose the feeling that it's wrong to kill, please come see me, and we will discuss it. There are times where you can feel justified in taking another's life. Those are few and far between, but sometimes in our line of work it is necessary. Those times are to protect the ones you love and to protect the village. You will also do so when you're ordered to. I'm not saying you shouldn't question about who you're supposed to kill, but you should do what is needed," Kurenai said, as she continued to minister to the two for about ten minutes before she began to dispose of the bodies. She stripped the men of all valuables and checked her books to see if any had bounties on them. Those that had bounties were beheaded, and the bodies were put in a pile that she quickly burned.

That evening, the three stayed at an inn. Kurenai and Hinata had invited Naruto into the Hot Springs. Naruto made sure that he kept his towel and blindfold on when he entered the area for the bath. Both Kurenai and Hinata giggled, as Naruto fell directly into the water because he misjudged the distance to the bath. Hinata fished Naruto out of the water.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked worriedly.

Naruto nodded his head. "Is it safe to take off my blindfold?" he asked.

Kurenai was impressed by his not taking off the blindfold until he was informed that all was clear. "Yes Naruto, you may take it off. I would also like to ask you to show me this jutsu you are so famous for, the one that took out the Hokage," Kurenai politely asked.

Naruto pulled off the blindfold, only to show worry in his eyes. "Are you sure? I don't mind using it on perverted guys, but to show it to you might get me killed," he explained worriedly.

"I promise you that I will not kill you Naruto. After all I'm asking you to show me," Kurenai reassured him.

Naruto made a ram seal and then called out his jutsu's name. "Sexy jutsu," Naruto said, as he was replaced by a well-endowed blonde woman of about eighteen years old.

"Are you going to kill me now?" Naruto asked in a voice that was definitely female.

Kurenai shook her head as she inspected Naruto. "You _did_ miss out on that class didn't you?" she said with a sigh of disappointment.

Naruto wore a confused look on his/her face. "What do you mean?" he/she asked.

Kurenai chuckled at the boy's/girl's confusion. "You used magazines to make this, didn't you? Wait, is it real?" She asked as if in shock.

Naruto looked at her like she was insane. "What do you mean, 'is it real'? Of course it's real! See? Feel?" Naruto grabbed one of his/her breasts and pointed it towards Kurenai.

Kurenai looked at him and gently touched the breast. "This is unusual, Naruto. You can do what few others can. Most transformations aren't real. They are just minor genjutsu. If you were given a close inspection of a female and a better understanding of female anatomy, you could pass yourself off as female, and use that skill to infiltrate other places. As it is now, you are just a poor copy of a female with breasts. I understand why guys fall for it, though. You give them enough to look at that their minds will fill in the rest, and then they become over excited, thus the blood loss. You can release it now, unless your wife wants to fill you in on what you're missing, and help you perfect it. I would also lose the whisker marks, as they would be a dead giveaway to your identity. Blonde is a nice touch, but can you do other hair colors and different ages?" Kurenai suggested, as Hinata blushed at the idea of revealing herself to Naruto, seeing as they were just getting to really know each other.

"No thanks, Kurenai-sensei. I won't press Hinata-chan to do anything she isn't ready to do," Naruto responded with a kind smile towards Hinata. Naruto had yet to release the transformation.

"You also know we still haven't had 'the talk' yet," Kurenai said in an authoritative tone.

Naruto nodded his head in defeat. "When do we start?"

"First we need to discuss human anatomy. You know the basics, as you have shown with your unique transformation," Kurenai explained. The next hour made both the children blush profusely. Naruto, after the talk with Iruka, now understood what was going on and truly could say he did not like Sakura in that way. Kurenai explained both the mechanics and the concepts of what involved in both procreation and birthing. Even with all that he and Iruka talked about, this talk was more in depth than his discussion before. Naruto seemed an able student, and agreed that he would never take advantage of a woman. Kurenai also discussed the mechanics on the male side, as she knew some of it, but not all and advised Naruto to seek out Iruka when he returned so that he could get the more personal questions answered. Naruto finally released his transformation.

"Do I need put my blindfold back on?" Naruto asked.

Kurenai smirked, and then got a devious grin. "Naruto look at me closely," she said.

Kurenai stood and opened her towel as Naruto looked directly at her. His eyes traveled down to her chest, and then hovered there for a second then traveled down to her crotch.

He then pointed at her crotch. "You explained it but I never thought… oh no," Naruto said, then turned red and immediately turned around. Hinata turned red, but appeared quite angry. "I'm sorry Kurenai-sensei. I didn't mean to be a pervert," Naruto apologized.

"Naruto-kun you have nothing to apologize for, Kurenai-sensei, on the other hand does. She is corrupting my future husband," Hinata said, huffing at Kurenai.

Kurenai covered herself back up. "I'm sorry, I must be hanging out with Anko too much. Please accept my apology. I didn't mean to insult either of you," Kurenai said, asking for forgiveness.

Hinata grabbed a towel from the side of the bath and held it up to Naruto's nose. "Are you okay Naruto-kun?" she asked worriedly as she scowled at Kurenai.

Kurenai put a hand on Naruto's back, and he flinched at her touch, "That was your first view of a real naked woman wasn't it?" Kurenai asked, as Naruto nodded. Kurenai continued, "I won't do it again, but I wanted to make sure you knew what you missed in your transformation. Now use this knowledge and use the jutsu properly. This way we can fit you for some female clothes and use this as a good disguise. If you can pass yourself off as a girl your own age then you can hide better."

Naruto nodded and made a ram seal and called out, "Sexy jutsu" Naruto turned into a female version of himself around the age of thirteen. Hinata and Kurenai examined Naruto, then looked at each other and nodded.

"Much better Naruto, your powers of observation are very good. You appear to have also used what you learned from our lesson and applied it to your change. Tomorrow, we will have you fitted for a female outfit," Kurenai commented, as Naruto frowned. Kurenai, seeing Naruto's frown, explained, "It will help in keeping you both safe. If you figure out how to act like a girl, you will also be able to hide in a crowd. The Hokage told me that you could come under attack from shinobi from Iwa because of your father. He wants you to make sure that, in his words, 'that damn annoying jutsu' does something beneficial for you."

Naruto nodded. "What do I need to learn other than figuring out how to use the bathroom?" he asked.

Hinata giggled, as she looked Naruto over with a weird look in her eyes. "Naruto-kun, I will work with you on that one later tonight, and no, Kurenai-sensei, we will not do anything, as we aren't married yet," Hinata explained as she blushed.

Naruto returned to his normal self and left with the females, not sure what he was in for the rest of the evening. Naruto found that Hinata made the explanation he wanted easier than he thought, as she had an anatomy book. He was able to figure out his problem, and the book explained the female anatomy enough for him to be able to fool Hinata that he was an actual girl. Naruto went to bed in boxers and a shirt while Hinata slept next to him in a nice nightgown.

The pair woke up more rested than they had ever been before. Kurenai asked how his transformation went at breakfast, and he explained that Hinata had a book with pictures that had helped. Kurenai asked to see the book, and laughed. They later headed into the garment district, much to Naruto's chagrin. According to the Kurenai and Hinata, Naruto made a very cute girl. They found several kimonos, a shinobi outfit and even a bikini that would fit him in his female form. They debated names for a couple hours and could not decide on one, so they went and found Naruto some clothes for his male self. The final names they came up with were Haruko, meaning sunlight, Hina, meaning sun, and finally Youko, meaning sunlight or ocean.

Naruto even splurged and bought Kurenai a few nice outfits. Over the next few days they decided on using Haruko as Naruto's female name, and Hinata would use Hina as her name while incognito. She would also use a genjutsu to hide her eyes and seal mark. Hinata took to wearing a leather headband that was light tan to cover her curse seal mark.

Naruto wondered what kissing a girl would be like. "Hinata-chan… can I kiss you, since we're going to be married someday?" Naruto asked, as Hinata blushed and nodded. Naruto felt awkward as his face approached hers and they bumped heads. Kurenai laughed at the antics of Naruto and Hinata.

Kurenai, not wanting to miss an opportunity to help them, gave some advice. "Naruto hold still. Now make a face like this," Kurenai stated as she positioned his head, and then looked to Hinata, "Now Hinata, do the same thing but turn your head this way. Now gently press your lips together and see what happens."

The first kiss was light and dainty, and their lips brushed each other, they felt electricity run through their bodies. Hinata wanted to feel it again, so Naruto and Hinata shared their first deep passionate kiss. Hinata fought for control, as the kiss lasted for what felt like an eternity. The kiss slowly broke as they separated and slowly opened their eyes. They each saw happiness and satisfaction in the other's eyes.

"I know that having a relationship is new to the both of you, so please try to keep your emotions under control, as that could lead to children, which you are both too young for. I will give you two months on your own, but I want you to take these scrolls and keep up on your training schedule," Kurenai told the two, as she handed them several scrolls. Kurenai smiled, and said, "You're strong enough to protect yourselves from most trouble, but I would warn you to keep a low profile and keep to populated areas so that you will not be ambushed by missing nin. Tomorrow I'll head back so, let's go over the training scrolls, so that if you have any questions, you can ask them now before I leave."

The rest of the day was spent discussing what order the scrolls should be used in, and how each of the exercises was to be performed. Naruto needed more instruction, as he knew less about chakra control than Hinata did. Hinata agreed to help him with chakra control, but Kurenai grilled them on their knowledge of the three forbidden jutsu. Several key rules were: Hinata was not to use the Shadow clone jutsu until her chakra capacity was at least double it was now. They were never to use the Eagle sight jutsu both at the same time, for obvious reasons. Naruto was to get his shadow clones to work in tandem with Hinata, so that she could deliver the finishing blow to a strong opponent. "Never forget to mourn the deaths of adversaries after you've finished with a battle, but during the battle do not think of those you have killed otherwise you might soon join them," Kurenai said, as she left them for their first night alone together outside of Konoha.

Hinata found that Naruto became bored easily, and had to figure ways to keep him occupied while she took care of the mundane things. She purchased sleeping equipment and a tent for them, along with a book of seals for beginners. She also purchased a couple weeks' worth of food and put it in a sealing scroll. Hinata found that while Naruto could read, he was not taught to read well. Hinata found several books and purchased them for their trip. The one thing Hinata didn't have to do is tell Naruto not to train. They would train until she was ready to pass out and then he would train some more. It proved good that Naruto had taken the scrolls his mother had left him as his taijutsu was horrible to say the least. Hinata helped him work on the kata in the family scrolls, he wanted to move straight to jutsu, but she told him that if he could defend himself, then the jutsu would be more effective.

Two days later, Naruto and Hinata checked out of the inn and headed east towards the ocean. Instead of wearing kimonos, they wore modest travel gear that was not as flexible as their shinobi outfits, but it was better than being caught in kimonos. Just after lunch, Naruto was looking over the bingo books that Kurenai had given him, one on shinobi and one that had the local list of wanted thugs.

A couple hours later, a group of ten bandits surrounded the couple and demanded their money. Naruto looked at the book and back at two of the men, back and forth between the book and the men.

"Hey kid, we want your money so hand it over and we will just let you go, since the girl's too young for us. Did you hear me? What's that book you're looking at?" One of the bandits asked.

Naruto finally looked up, closed the book and smirked. He began to count them and nodded.

"What is with that kid? Is he touched in the head, boss?" Another bandit asked.

"About three thousand Ryo here, and we can either bring them in dead or alive, Hina-chan," Naruto explained.

Several of the bandits drew their swords and moved to attack only to hear. "I would just give up if I were you. We don't want to kill you," Hinata softly explained.

All ten bandits began to laugh so hard they fell on the ground. Naruto quietly created twenty shadow clones, disarmed the bandits, and began to tie them up before they were able to regain their wits about themselves. "Hey, how did you do that? You beat us without even getting a scratch!" One of the bandits shouted, as Naruto finished binding them.

"You were over confident, and thus we were able to easily defeat you," Naruto explained, as the bandits just shook their heads. The clones quickly took all valuables away from the bandits. They then dragged them off to the local constable. They were able to get four thousand Ryo of bounty for the bandits. Naruto refused to give his name, and the constable thought he was too young to be a bounty hunter. When Naruto and Hinata explained that they were shinobi in training and were on break from the academy, the man took the prisoners and gave them the bounty without any more questions.

Naruto and Hinata found the walk to the next coastal village refreshing, as there were no bandits. Two days later they saw a couple of figures on the horizon. One was carrying a massive sword on this back, and the other appeared feminine or was female. Naruto shifted the sword he had to a harder-to-reach position so that he would not cause the man with the 'really big sword' to feel threatened. As the two groups approached each other the stances became more pronounce as shinobi. Both pairs stopped about twenty feet from each other to size each other up. Naruto decided that being quiet was better than trying to annoy a man who wore a Mist headband. He was tall with short cropped black hair. He wore white camouflage pants and a gray shirt. The man looked at both of the children and saw the sword. He began to laugh, "How are you supposed to defend yourself if you do not wear the sword properly?" He asked pointedly.

Naruto looked up at the man with a slight grin. "Well I knew there was no way I could even try to fight someone like you with this hunk of steel, so why show it in a way that might cause you to attack?" Naruto asked, as the man put his hand to his chin and chuckled.

"You have a point, kid. Why are you out here? I can tell you have shinobi training by your stances, though they're weak. Haku, here, could teach you both, a thing or two about skills. I'm Zabuza Momochi…" Zabuza began to explain, as Naruto flipped through his book.

"Demon of the Bloody Mist, items of interest are that he is a master of the silent killing technique, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, and had made a failed assassination attempt on the Mizukage," Naruto rattled off from his bingo book Kurenai had given them. "No offense Zabuza-sama, but we are on vacation and want no problems with you," Naruto pleaded.

"I like you kid, you have some guts for what, a genin at best? You are brave to read off my description from a bingo book and not either piss yourself or run away," Zabuza commented with mirth in his voice.

Naruto sighed. "First, I would have to protect Hinata-chan here, even if it cost me my life and second, running would only get us killed quicker," Naruto stated bluntly, as Haku and Hinata both giggled at Naruto's chivalry.

"True, so are you genin on break or what? You seem too young for anything else unless you're protégés," Zabuza stated, as he looked at them.

"We failed out of the academy so we are not even genin. We're currently just skilled civilians until next time the academy starts," Naruto admitted to the missing nin.

Zabuza looked at the kid awe struck at how easily the boy gave up information. "Look kid, you talk too much. I like you, so here's some advice. Ask more questions than you answer. A shinobi learns as much as he can about those he meets. You gave me enough information that you know about being a ninja but do not know enough to be one. Do you even think you can take a life? Do you know that it is required for shinobi to end lives?" he asked.

Naruto nodded his head, as he knew that was a fact of being a shinobi. "Zabuza-sama let us take them with us so that you can show them how to be shinobi, like you did for me." Haku stated with a blush.

Hinata spoke up finally. "You're a girl?"

Haku shook her head quickly. "No, I… I'm a boy," she whispered. Hinata shook her head. "Yes! Yes, I'm a boy!" Haku exclaimed emphatically.

Naruto sniffed the air and smirked. "Nope definitely a girl, light perfume scent," Naruto and Hinata froze. Hinata fell to a knee as they felt waves of killing intent, not from Haku but from Zabuza. Naruto was still able to stand and actually look Zabuza in the eyes.

Zabuza intensified the killing intent until Hinata began to breathe hard and Naruto's knees began to shake. Then, as suddenly as it started, it was gone. "I'm impressed gaki, you're still awake after that! I will teach you to use a sword, boy, and Haku-chan…" Zabuza said, then saw Haku glaring at him, and asked, "What? They both figured it out. The boy has good senses and the girl has good observation skills. So you two have a choices: either come with us or we kill you now. I promise I will drop you off in your village after you learn what it truly means to be a shinobi. So will you become my tools?"

Naruto put a smile on his face and scratched the back of his head. Hinata bowed and spoke for both of them. "We will do as you say Zabuza-sensei," She answered meekly.

"I like her too, kid. You keep both the girls alive, and I might let you marry them both." Zabuza exclaimed, as Haku and Hinata both blushed.

Naruto opened his mouth but shut it quickly, as he thought it better not to tell the man too much so that he couldn't use it against him later. "If that is your wish, Zabuza-sensei," Naruto said, as he dropped his head in resignation, hoping that Hinata wouldn't kill him if he had to fulfill that particular promise.

Zabuza nodded, as he stepped forward and pulled Naruto's sword out of its scabbard. "What the hell is this? A pig poker, it has nicks and a dulled blade. Did you hope to kill someone by bludgeoning them to death?" Zabuza asked, as he grabbed the sword and bent it, then said, "See what it did to me, not even a scratch. Where did you get this piece of junk from?"

Naruto spoke up quickly, not wanting to receive the wrath of his new sensei. "It's the best we have from the bandits we have captured," Naruto admitted.

"Is that the best you have? If so, then we will have to get you a new one," Zabuza said, then noticed a gleam in Naruto's eyes. "Okay, out with it gaki, you have another one don't you?"

Naruto nodded as he pulled out the scroll from his mother and applied both blood and chakra to the seal inside of the scroll. A beautiful handle and sheath appeared in his hand. The handle and sheath were red with several decorative swirl patterns on it along it with a fox with nine tails wrapped around the sheath. The sword sheath ended at the hilt of the sword as if you were pulling the sword out of the fox's mouth. Everyone's mouth dropped at the beautiful red lacquer finish of the sheath, and the golden fox and swirls. The handle was wrapped in black cloth and had a golden hilt with nine of what could only be described as tails coming from the hilt to make a swirl. Naruto slowly drew the sword and looked at the blade. It looked nearly new, blue steel. All Naruto could do was whistle.

Zabuza smirked below the bandages on his face. "That is an exquisite sword, kid. That is to be used for real fighting and not for learning. We will get you one for learning and you can use that one for actual combat, but first take this," Zabuza said, as he threw Naruto what looked like a large stick.

Naruto quickly sheathed the sword and put his hand up and caught the stick. He looked more closely at the stick to see, that it looked like a wooden sword with seals on it. Naruto looked quizzically at Zabuza. "What is with the stick?" he asked.

Zabuza chuckled. "It's a training sword, so that you don't cut yourself," he asked.

Naruto scowled at the sword but put it in his belt. Naruto then sealed his mother's sword back in the scroll, and asked, "Okay, what do I do now?"

Zabuza smirked at the question, and answered, "Push some chakra into the training sword and see what happens."

Naruto pushed a little chakra into the sword, only to find it weighed a ton and it pulled his hands to the ground. "What the hell?" he shouted, as he became very annoyed.

"Not too good with chakra control, eh gaki?" Zabuza teased.

Naruto shook his head as he stopped the flow of chakra to the sword and it lightened slowly. "So it's used to build up my strength?" he asked.

"Good call gaki, now I need names for my new tools and if anybody asks, Haku is a boy. This way we can keep her safe when I'm not around. I would also tell your girlfriend that she should hide herself from being a girl, as it will attract less attention. We are heading to Wave Country to get some work from the shipping magnate Gato. He has hired us to do a job," Zabuza explained. "We are also going to meet up with a couple of guys that will be there soon. I don't trust them, but they are also missing nin. They are the demon brothers, and I really advise we hide the fact that your girlfriend is a girl or you may have to fight a couple of chuunin over her virtue."

Naruto nodded, as he sort of understood. "Then we should get some new clothes in the next town."

Zabuza nodded as he looked at his two new tools. "I need to know what to call you so give me your 'real' names, and, just so you know, I can tell when you're lying," Zabuza threatened.

Naruto stood in front of Hinata. "Fine sensei, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, and this is Hinata soon-to-be Uzumaki," he answered.

Zabuza put his hand on his chin and thought. "Naruto is a rare name, but we can live with it unless we run into people from your home village. As for Hinata-chan, we should give her a boy's name, for when we aren't alone, so that she can try to pull the same act as Haku-chan here. Now what do you have as capabilities?" Zabuza asked.

Naruto looked down as if he didn't want to answer. "Come on Naruto-kun, we need to know a baseline so that he can begin your training. What skills and jutsu do you know? We will find out eventually, so it would be easier in the end, Naruto-kun. Release," Haku said, as Hinata's eyes reverted to their natural lavender color.

"Look what we have here… a Hyuuga, are you a main or a branch member? She has a bloodline like you Haku-chan, though yours deals with ice and hers is a doujutsu," Zabuza explained to Haku as Hinata removed her headband revealing her seal. Zabuza sighed in pity, and said, "A branch member, that's fine, but we should also work with you on ninjutsu so you can hide the fact that you're a Hyuuga."

Naruto sighed, "I don't want to betray the Iruka-sensei or Kurenai-sensei."

"I'm not asking you to give me your jutsu. Just tell me what you know, so that I can see what you lack and we can work on it," Zabuza proclaimed.

Naruto sighed. "I know Transformation, Substitution, Eagle Eye, Shadow Clone Shuriken, and Shadow Clone jutsu," he replied.

Zabuza and Haku were shocked that this boy knew several forbidden jutsu from Konoha. Zabuza turned to Hinata and raised an eyebrow. Well he would have if he had one. Hinata sighed, as she didn't want to see Naruto hurt and was happy that Naruto was willing to defend her. "I know the basics for Jyuuken, Transformation, Switch, Eagle Eye, Shadow Clone Shuriken, Standard and Shadow Clone jutsus," she explained.

Zabuza sighed. "Okay how many effective shadow clones can each of you pull off?"

"Naruto-kun can make hundreds, as he has nearly jounin chakra capacity, if not higher, but I, on the other hand, can't make any and still be effective. Naruto-kun has a high chakra capacity thus he has very low chakra control," Hinata admitted sadly as she hugged Naruto.

"Well you're in luck gaki. Haku-chan here will work you to the bone on chakra control. I'm sure the girls have great chakra control, so we should get you up to speed and get you leaning chakra control. First, push some chakra into these pieces of paper and don't ask questions until you do as I say," Zabuza ordered, as he pulled two sheets of paper from his pouch from behind his back. Naruto and Hinata both took one piece and did as they were told. Naruto's split in half while Hinata's became wet and soaked with water.

"Good. Naruto you have wind element in prominence, while Hinata here has water. Haku-chan here had both of those in even amounts, so she can use ice. Now we need to teach you both how to harness jutsu of your element, and others. We will teach both of you water jutsu. Naruto, you will have to push more chakra into a water jutsu for it to work correctly, you're just lucky you aren't a fire element, or it would take around four times as much chakra to do a water jutsu. I think Haku-chan might have a wind jutsu or two," Zabuza stated as Haku nodded.

"First we put weights in your packs so that we increase your strength. And this is where the fun starts," Zabuza stated with a diabolical laugh.

--------

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter on to Wave…

I will answer some of the questions.

Goku90504: No, he is just naïve about human nature.

I'MnotCrazy1: No this was supposed to be a surprise for Naruto to find out later. Hinata and Hana were supposed to try to get Naruto to notice her instead of him knowing. Thus a surprise when he falls for her and then finds out she is to be his bride.

DeathMVP: Sarutobi isn't bad, but he is stuck in a tough political situation. He is human and wanted to deal with it with the least amount of friction in the village, and Naruto paid for it. Only now is realizing what he sewed, now Naruto is reaping it and isn't very happy about it. While the situation is salvageable, Naruto shouldn't have had it so bad.

Bill: There are some things that I will reveal over time. Yes, the seal is the Hyuuga clan going back on its word. Hiashi is angry at the council, but they took a very big risk and put him in a corner. They could take Hanabi and force her to become what they want, instead of what Hiashi wants. Naruto and Hinata will get even later with the clan council. Also there is something you might have missed, Naruto is studying seals, at Hinata's insistence. You figure it out.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own not Naruto…

Here are the next few chapters 4, 5, & 6 all at once... Made my beta happy with my improvemtents and will put the true edited ones when I get them over these chapters.

Chapter 4 – Wave, a different story…

Two months later in a tree house in Wave. "Ah come on sensei… We all know he is going to betray us…" Naruto whined.

"Shut it kid. Gato is the only ticket in town," Gouzu explained to Naruto.

Naruto huffed and looked him straight in the eye. "And what will we do when he betrays us which all three of us stupid brats keep on telling you. Please sensei he will use us and then turn us over to the Mizukage or we will die another way. Let's just wash our hands of him or free the people." Naruto pleaded.

"What do you say if… nah… Gato will be arriving soon," Zabuza stated.

A short rotund man walked into the tree home with two samurai. "Look at the great Demon of the Mist sitting here, while I pay him to kill the bridge builder. He just left a few days ago, I am sure he is going to get some help. Also why you keep the kids, they appear useless?" Gato asked.

"They are my tools and advise me, along with making sure that the job gets done. As for paying me you have yet to give me one Bu in payment for the last three jobs, let alone killing the bridge builder. I'm getting impatient at waiting for at least some of the payment," Zabuza proclaimed.

"I want your word that you will kill him," Gato demanded.

Zabuza looked at the man. "Barring any screw ups, he is a dead man. So why are you strangling this country?" Zabuza asked.

"I can, so why the sudden interest? You're just the hired help and couldn't understand what it means to rule people," Gato retorted defensively.

Naruto perked at this, as he continued to work on pushing chakra into a glass of water. Hinata and Haku both looked at Naruto and nodded. "Look at the brats just looking stupidly at a glass of water," One of the samurai commented, as Naruto shook his head and grinned.

"A good shinobi hides his true strength until it is truly needed," Naruto whispered, as both girls just nodded agreement.

"Shut it scum, he already has a problem with concentration, unless you want me to kill you now," Zabuza threatened.

"I want that man dead, as he's building a bridge that will destroy my plans. Now get to it," Gato threatened, as he summoned his thugs to him and left the house.

"Demon brothers go get Tazuna now," Zabuza said, as he heard several thuds in the door.

"Water style: Water Needle Jutsu," Naruto proclaimed, as Zabuza saw water shaped senbon slowly fall into a puddle at the door.

He also noticed the holes dug into the door. "So you finally got that jutsu? Can you do hidden mist any better yet?" Zabuza asked.

"Yes, but I need either high humidity or a lot of water around the area. While Haku and I have continued to work hard on my chakra control, its still is pretty pathetic," Naruto admitted.

The Demon brothers left the house and headed for the trail of Tazuna. "I believe that Naruto-kun is correct, the man is going to betray us," Haku admitted.

Naruto smiled, but also cleared his throat. "Zabuza-sama…" Naruto stated, as Zabuza turned his attention to Naruto. "You have said that you hate the Mizukage for what he has done to the Water country and to the village," Zabuza nodded at Naruto proclamation. Naruto then continued, "Well, would you allow something like what Gato is doing here to happen in the Water village, if you were Mizukage?"

Zabuza pondered his options, as Naruto had proven time and time again that he wasn't an idiot just untrained. Time and time again Naruto had shown that being an unfeeling tool was not as good as a driven and focused shinobi. He also knew that Haku was beginning to develop feelings for the gaki and he wanted to make sure that it would not conflict with the ultimate goal of making him Mizukage. "No, I wouldn't, it wouldn't be beneficial to the village or the people to do what he is doing."

Naruto smirked and Zabuza knew he would be in for trouble, "Well then, you say you need financial backing to take the role of Mizukage. Why not rid the earth of the scum of Gato and take his business and then use it to benefit your rise to becoming the next Mizukage?" Naruto asked with a chuckle.

"You would have me go against an employer?" Zabuza queried, as Naruto nodded. "Why?"

Naruto sighed, "I may not be as smart as either of them…" Naruto said, as he pointed at Haku and Hinata. "But, I do know what's right, and what a Kage should do. If you take an evil client and know he will betray you, I see no problem with eliminating the client and taking what he has to benefit the rest." Naruto stated, as he went through several hand seals and a fog fell over the room. "Hidden Mist Jutsu."

"Not bad Naruto, but how many times have I told you not to practice that jutsu in the house?" Zabuza stated and rolled his eyes. "You do make a good point, though. Here, I'll make you a deal. If the demon brothers fail, we will see what type of person this Tazuna man is and then I will decide if we want to go with your idea, okay gaki?"

The mist cleared showing three happy teens, Naruto with a huge smile on his face. "So do we work on the next step in my swords training sensei?" Naruto inquired, as Zabuza nodded and lead the group out of the house. Haku and Hinata giggled, as they knew Naruto was going to be heavily bruised tonight and they could use the herbs they had gathered earlier to help in his healing. They did enjoy their time healing Naruto.

-----------

Three hours later Naruto was being dragged in on Haku and Hinata's shoulders, as they placed him on his bed and proceeded to disrobe him. "As usual, Naruto-kun pushed himself almost too far," Hinata admitted.

"He pushes himself because of you Hinata-chan," Haku admitted, with a dejected look on her face.

Hinata turned Haku's face towards her with a finger on her chin. "No Haku-chan, he does it for both of us. He also likes you too. He does not understand the meaning of love, well true love and we have both found a place in his heart. For what it is worth he loves both of us and I wouldn't mind if we were both married to him. I could look to you as an older sister. He wouldn't want to hurt either of us and thus he is troubled at who he should choose, as he doesn't understand that he could have both of us as wives. Unless you want to break his heart, and have a fight with me over him?" Hinata admitted to her now good friend.

Haku nodded. "Until he is of age we will agree to teach him about love and then we marry him when he is old enough, I would prefer to share the boy that I have come to love, as much as you have. Now let's fix him up, I know he heals very quickly, but Zabuza-sama didn't go easy on him today," Haku commented, as she pulled a jar of healing balm from the shelf. Both girls applied the balm to Naruto's injured body. "Does he have a Kekkei Genkai? I mean his healing ability is quite remarkable."

Hinata thought about it, but wasn't sure if the healing was due to the Kyuubi or a bloodline that Naruto had, or maybe even both. "I'm not sure, as he has not allowed me to disclose the information about his parents to you and Zabuza-sama as of yet," Hinata replied.

Naruto groaned, as he continued to sleep. The girls pulled a blanket over him to make sure he didn't catch cold and headed out for their own training. While Naruto had gone from tree climbing to water walking in only a month his chakra control was still very poor. The girls showed perfect chakra control and were able do both with more proficiency than before and with Naruto and Zabuza pushing, their chakra capacity to nearly double what it was before, as Hinata could do a single shadow clone and have it do a single attack or defensive jutsu without worry of chakra exhaustion. Haku could maintain her ice mirror jutsu for nearly an hour while training with Naruto. Zabuza found that Naruto pushed him also, and was able to improve his own fighting abilities and chakra capacity. The Demon brothers had kept mostly to themselves after they had insulted Naruto when they first met.

(Flashback)…

Naruto walked between Hinata and Haku, as they approached the new house they were going to live in. Zabuza told them that the Demon brothers would be joining them there while they worked for Gato, as body guards or special assignments that he wanted them to do. Naruto noticed a couple of chakra signatures to his left and drew his kunai as Haku giggled at Naruto.

Two men burst from the brush as Naruto pulled out a second kunai ready for battle. "Zabuza, why did you get a couple more brats? I mean Haku is bad enough, do we have to work with two more ninja wanabes?"

Naruto stood his ground in a defensive posture as Hinata took up a similar posture. "What did you say you jerk?" Naruto demanded, with a growl. Both leapt a Naruto who just sidestepped them and put a kunai to each of their throats. "I may be a punk, but at least I'm trying to improve my abilities and I didn't underestimate my opponents. What do you have to say now?"

Gouzu sighed and lowered his hands in defeat. "I'll admit you are not bad, for a genin level shinobi that is, but we didn't see anything from the other boy. He looks really weak."

Miezu suddenly disappeared only to have his claw blocked by Hinata's kunai. Naruto was now holding a log with his kunai and Miezu had attacked Hinata from behind. "His reactions are acceptable, but he still needs strength training Zabuza," Miezu commented.

Having been bested or tied with a genin had angered the brothers, only caused them to stay away from the three children. This suited them fine, as they wanted to train away from the brothers. The brothers again and only a day later had gotten on Naruto's bad side, when they had shown him a girl they had kidnapped from Water country and were going to use her for both pleasure and ransom. Naruto's eyes turned red with slits for pupils and he proceeded to beat the brothers into the ground only to be stopped by Zabuza who freed the girl and sent her on her way. The brothers took two weeks to heal and would not go near Naruto. Since Hinata and Haku always kept close to him, they avoided them too. They decided had to stay away from all of them.

Zabuza had assumed it was an animalistic bloodline, so he didn't ask any questions. Why should he, he had three pupils with bloodlines and might, after he married them, get mixtures of Naruto's and the girl's bloodlines in his grandkids.

(End flashback)…

Two weeks later a messenger bird told the group that the brothers had been defeated and thus another visit from the annoying employer Gato. "You have failed me Zabuza. Your Demon brothers were defeated and now the bridge builder is on his way here," Gato complained.

Naruto, Hinata and Haku edged behind Gato's samurai guards and took defensive positions. Zabuza swung his sword and nearly hit Gato's throat. "I promised you that I would get him, but you also promised me that you would pay me. I have seen no payment and lost two mediocre tools. I will go see what it is with the people that guard the bridge builder and if I deem it easy enough I will kill him for you. Now get out!" Zabuza exclaimed.

Gato wiped the sweat from his brow. "You better not fail me or, I'll bring in someone here who can do the job," Gato threatened, as he left with his guards. Just after he closed the door he turned to his guards. "Remind me to call the Mizukage after he leaves to kill the bridge builder, so that we can get rid of him and not have to pay him," Gato stated, as he and his men laughed while they left the area.

Naruto had his ear to the window and scowled. "Zabuza-sama, he is going to betray us, even if we succeed and he's going to contact the Mizukage and turn us in. We all know what will happen, he will send hunters and we will have to run. I was hoping to get back to Konoha and prove we're good enough to be genin," Naruto stated with a dejected look.

Zabuza laughed. "Let's go meet this bridge builder and see if it is enough for us to remove Gato from the picture," Zabuza stated, as the group nodded and left the house.

------------

A day later the four were watching a group of five walking through the forest. Naruto pointed at each and began to speak. "Let's see, teme…. I mean Sasuke Uchiha, the one with the permanent scowl and duck butt hair. I still don't like him. The pink haired one is Sakura Haruno, I can't believe I actually liked her, that was before Hinata-chan and Haku-chan showed me what it meant to actually be accepted," Naruto commented, as both girls blushed. "The third genin, I have no clue, as he wasn't in our class, I would either guess an older genin or higher ranked ninja who is playing nurse maid to the Uchiha brat." Haku and Hinata both giggled at Naruto's derogatory explanation. "The silver haired guy, I have no clue, sorry sensei."

Zabuza handed Naruto a book and opened it to a particular page. "Girls disappear and Naruto you read this out loud to get their attention. You can also tease your former classmates if you like," Zabuza stated with a bit of mirth in his voice.

Naruto cleared his throat loud enough for the five to turn towards him. "Kakashi Hatake, also known as the copy-cat ninja, or Sharingan Kakashi. Known for being former ANBU with Konohagature no Sato, and I'm guessing you would happen to be their current sensei. Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha clan, the only person in his clan to survive a massacre of his clan by his brother Itachi, he is also known for his distaste of girls and emotional instability. Oh, and I forgot his superior attitude. Sakura Haruno, best in class in book knowledge, but her practical skills were basically nil. Last member of your team is a mystery. Finally you sir, must be the man the Gato-teme fears so much," Naruto proclaimed loudly.

The group looked up at Naruto who sat on the branch reading the book that Zabuza had handed him in plain view. It took a minute for it to register with Sakura that this might be Naruto, he wore black shinobi pants along with an orange white and black, tiger stripped shirt, with a sword slung over his back. He also wore extra weapons pouches on each leg, and two wooden handles sticking out each side of his lower back.

"Naruto!!" Sakura yelled. "What are you doing here you baka and why are you insulting Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto laughed at the question. "I'll tell you why Sakura. I'm on vacation and he has no sense of humor. He believes he is the best, but I know a secret," Naruto teased. Naruto jumped down and walked towards the group, with his hands held wide, and then looked at Tazuna, as he said, "But first, I have a question for you Tazuna-san."

Tazuna nodded. "What is your question kid?"

"What would you do if you were free of Gato?" Naruto asked.

"I would bring prosperity back to Wave and hopefully bring back happiness into my grandson's life. Gato and his thugs killed my son-in-law because he stood up to Gato," Tazuna explained.

"See, told you Sensei, Gato is an evil jerk!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder. Naruto continued to close the distance with his arms still held out wide. He continued to speak, "If we get rid of Gato and give the village half the spoils, will you tell no one we were here?"

"You want to get rid of Gato? If you do that, we would do anything you want, well within reason that is," Tazuna stated happily.

"Naruto…" Kakashi asked, as he moved in front of Tazuna. "Who is your sensei and why are you here? I know who you are, but not why you're here."

Naruto sat down on the ground and produced a foxy grin and a set of cards. He then said, "Well you see Hatake-san. Zabuza Momichi is my sensei. We currently have an equal number of shinobi that you have, but we also were sent here by Gato to kill Tazuna here. I told sensei that Tazuna would make a better ruler than Gato, because he wouldn't use the same thuggish tactics Gato enjoys."

"You mean the 'Demon of the Mist' is your sensei?" Kakashi asked in surprise, as he took a defensive stance. "Why would you allow yourself to be his student, he's a monster."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, as his voice turned cold and asked, "Like the village thinks I am?"

A surprised look crossed Kakashi's face. "Naruto we can't have that type of discussion here. Where is your 'sensei'?" Kakashi asked in a very nice tone, but also put enough seriousness in it to let Naruto know he was watching him.

"He will only come out if you attack me or you agree to a cease-fire, if only temporary," Naruto stated with a serious tone.

Sasuke walked in front of Kakashi and turned his back on Naruto. "You're not going to take him seriously, are you? He was the dead last in class, while I was rookie of the year," Sasuke proclaimed, as Sakura clasped her hands and had hearts in her eyes.

"You're also dickless," The third member of the team stated without emotion.

"I like him," Naruto commented happily, as everyone jumped at seeing Naruto standing just behind Sasuke. "Also teme, never turn your back on a possible enemy. That is the last advice I will give you, at least for the moment," Naruto stated with a smile.

"You dobe!" Sasuke turned and threw a punch at Naruto who just twisted and avoided the punch. Sasuke got angrier and continued to throw wild punches. "Stand still dobe and let me hit you!"

Naruto continued to dodge. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble for striking a civilian, being a shinobi it is a crime, unless I present a danger," Naruto pointed out, in a near sarcastic voice. "Me being here and having stated peaceful intentions is more than enough to get you in big trouble. I also know the Hokage and he's still in trouble with me," Naruto proclaimed, as he continued his dodging.

"Sasuke stop it, he is playing with you. He is also right, he has made no aggressive moves, as of yet and I don't want Zabuza to kill you for attacking him, or worse for Naruto to kill you in self defense," Kakashi warned.

"Good advice, as we gave you all the cards and you keep screwing it up. Tazuna-san you might live if you call off your dogs before I have to kill them," Zabuza stated as he walked out from the woods.

Tazuna nodded and looked at Sasuke. He then said, "Please Sasuke-san, stop attacking that kid. They are offering to help me."

Sasuke stopped more from fatigue than from wanting to stop. "What are you doing here dobe?"

Naruto grinned. "Like I said, I'm offering to help Tazuna-san with his problems, as we know that Gato is going to betray us. Now back to Kakashi-san's question. Zabuza-sama gave us a choice either join him or die. I kind of like living and it couldn't be worse than how I was treated in the village. I even got some training out of the deal," Naruto explained happily.

"So she is here too?" Kakashi asked, as Naruto nodded to behind the group.

The group turned to see a girl with medium-short hair wearing male clothes, white eyes and a boy in a Mist hunter mask standing next to her. "Yes Hatake-san, we are both here," Hinata exclaimed from her perch high on a tree.

"A Hyuuga, Hinata?" Sakura stated, as she looked closely at her. "So the loser-couple are here."

"I would watch your tongue Haruno-ikeike (bitch), as we're not shinobi, but have been trained by one, a jounin, no less. From your stance you find me to be no threat, but I can assure you that you really are no threat to us," Hinata stated coldly, as anger at how she had treated Naruto came to the surface.

"What? Do you think you can hurt me? I am a kunoichi…" Sakura stated as Hinata cut her off.

"You are a fan girl for the darling cheater of the village, Sasuke-teme," Hinata said coldly.

"What are you talking about? You both failed the genin exams," Sakura stated proudly.

"We failed only because we were setup. Teme there was also setup, but he was setup to succeed," Naruto stated from behind them, with a deck of cards playing with Zabuza. "Full house."

"Damn it gaki, how do you always win? I know you don't cheat." Zabuza proclaimed, as Naruto shrugged.

"What do you mean setup, I passed my tests," Sasuke asked.

"Yes, and how do you explain your test being filled out for you. How about the nice new weapons you got for the exams and the magnets in the target dummies. How about cheating during our taijutsu match, sure you were better, but you went before the signal was actually given? I'm not complaining, as I got a lot better training than you apparently have gotten," Naruto stated smugly.

"You have a sword you'll cut yourself, dobe," Sasuke said, as he pointed to the sword on his back and the two wooden swords at his side.

Naruto stood and drew the practice swords and tossed one to Sasuke. "Here catch." Kakashi watched, but kept his stance.

"What is this dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"A wooden practice sword, you idiot, so I don't kill the village's precious Uchiha. Now if you know your stuff let's go, and I promise won't hit me," Naruto proclaimed.

Sasuke grinned. "Right… now I can wipe that smug smile off your face," he replied arrogantly.

Naruto frowned. "That was supposed to be my line, teme," Naruto whined. "Oh, by the way you're holding it wrong. Now looked what I've done, giving him more advice," he said in a dejected tone, as Hinata and Haku giggled at Naruto.

Sasuke ran at Naruto. Naruto did a quick swing down on to Sasuke's sword, as Sasuke had pointed the wooden sword straight at Naruto, only to lose his grip on the sword, when Naruto side stepped Sasuke attack and slammed his sword directly down on Sasuke's. Naruto then picked up Sasuke's sword and waited for Sasuke to turn. "Told you… Here try again," he said, as he tossed the wooden sword back to Sasuke.

Sasuke growled as he caught the sword and gripped it with two hands. "I hate you," he growled at Naruto.

Naruto grinned. "I love you too, but I don't swing that way. I'm not so sure about you, though," Naruto stated, as he blocked several blows from Sasuke, he then ducked a blow and Sasuke got out of position. Naruto smirked and stuck his sword between Sasuke's legs only to have Sasuke trip and land on his face. "See I told you that you wouldn't hit me once. You can keep that sword if you like, but don't hurt yourself, teme," he said in a teasing tone.

"So Tazuna-san, do you accept our offer?" Hinata asked politely. "Naruto-kun has been quite adamant about how it is to do the right thing."

"Joining a missing nin, isn't the right thing," Kakashi stated.

"Making a missing nin turn over a new leaf, pun intended, is," Naruto stated with a laugh. "Now Kakashi-san, are you going to relax or are we going to have to fight? Be warned Hinata-chan and I have taken a life before and understand the pain involved with it. From what I can see your students have not done so. Also know that both of us have a special spot in our hearts for two of your students."

Kakashi's single evident eyebrow rose, and he asked, "How so?"

Naruto pointed to Sasuke. "Pretty boy here has been the bane of my existence. He was showered with gifts by the village while I, the pariah, by nothing had ever done. Sakura there had raised the ire of Hinata-chan because she wanted my attention, but Sakura would only beat me away again and again, for nothing I was ever responsible for."

"I never did such a thing!" Sakura protested.

"How many times did Naruto-kun ask you out?" Hinata asked coldly.

"How should I know?" Sakura answered in her defense.

"There were eighty-four occasions that I witnessed, you either hit him or smacked him on eighty-one of those. The other three you berated and belittled him for not being as good as Sasuke-'kun'," she said, as the 'kun' rolled off of Hinata's lips like poison.

"That's because Sasuke-kun is the best and a whole lot better than that loser," Sakura protested, as she pointed at Naruto.

"So you don't deny assaulting your fellow student for simply asking you out on a date? Has Sasuke ever accepted your advances? If not, did he ever hit you for asking?" Haku queried in a flat tone.

Sakura blushed, and then her brows furrowed. "That isn't the point. Sasuke-kun is the best," she retorted.

"Hey pinky… If he is the best then how come my student beat him by only playing with him?" Zabuza asked.

Tazuna shook his head, as this appeared to be degrading into a school yard fight between the class bully and the class defender, just he could not figure out who was who. "Look all I want is to bring back prosperity to this land and hope back to the people," Tazuna answered with a sigh.

"Four aces," Naruto declared, as he showed his hand to Zabuza. "So, if I can convince my Sensei to leave you alone and take out Gato and his thugs, will you will use your half of the money to help this country?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Tazuna's jaw fell, as he asked, "You would share his fortune with Wave?" Naruto nodded. "Why?"

Naruto smiled at Tazuna and then scowled at the Konoha shinobi. "Because it is the right thing to do, also while I don't mind annoying the teme, I don't want to burn the bridge to Konoha at this time," Naruto stated, as Kakashi was visibly shocked. "Also Kakashi-san could you send for Kurenai-sensei we have some business to discuss with her."

"What would that be Naruto?" Kakashi asked, not sure what to do, as he was not sure if Naruto and Hinata had been turned traitor.

"While we are civilians, well trained ones at that, we are still civilians. The Hokage has annoyed me and I only trust a few people in Konoha right now, Kurenai-sensei is one of them," Naruto explained.

Kakashi nodded, as he presented his hand to move the group towards its destination. "Shall we go and discuss this on the trip to Tazuna's house?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Nope, we have some work to do first. We will meet you in a few days, if not sooner. We will present a gift to you Tazuna-san, and if we find you have misused this gift, we will kill you," Naruto stated, as he collected the cards and jumped quickly away, he then vanished before their eyes.

"How did he beat me?" Sasuke asked no one in particular.

"You rushed into a fight you didn't need to engage in, for starters. Just because you're an Uchiha doesn't mean there aren't people who are stronger than you. You are still a genin, by the way," Kakashi stated.

"But Kakashi-sensei, how did Naruto become so strong in only a few months? He was dead last in the academy and failed the exams," Sakura queried.

"Either he hid his abilities, or he was held back by someone. Also there are those who excel when pushed hard and are willing to learn. I hate to admit it, but hard work can sometimes overcome natural talent if those with natural talent become complacent," Kakashi answered, so that everyone could hear.

Sasuke gritted his teeth at the comment. "So are you saying I've been complacent?" Sasuke growled through his teeth.

Kakashi shrugged. "Not necessarily, Naruto my just have found a teacher in Zabuza that he needed to excel. I'm only worried at what he has taught him," he said in a worried tone.

"Why is that Kakashi sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Because, Naruto is a special individual in our village, he has a larger chakra capacity than all my students combined," Kakashi stated bluntly.

"Is his ego larger than dickless, here?" Sai asked.

Sakura threw a punch at Sai. "Shut up Sai! Sasuke-kun is the best!"

"Apparently not, he was beaten by in both yours and his words and I quote 'the dead last of our class'," Sai commented without emotion, as he continued to evade Sakura's punches. "Also are you sure you're a girl, you're too aggressive and have no chest," Sai's comment caused Sakura to rage even worse, and all Kakashi could do is sigh.

-------------

The team quietly approached Gato's stronghold. Senbon appeared in Haku's hand, as the guards fell quickly at the front gate. "I have disabled all the guards Zabuza-sama."

Zabuza appeared above one of the downed guards and pulled his kunai across the man's throat. "You are still too compassionate, Haku. Naruto take care of the other two while I kill this one," Zabuza ordered, as Naruto dispatched the other two thugs. They dumped their bodies into the dry moat.

The group quietly moved through the building and killed off all the thugs as they passed them. The building was becoming quieter and quieter as they passed through the building. They came upon the mess hall and made quick work of the twenty thugs in the room using the hidden mist jutsu along with silent killing techniques. Haku made her first kills in this room, Hinata stayed with her to comfort her while Naruto and Zabuza moved into Gato's office area. Four guards were stationed outside Gato's office.

Naruto appeared in front of the guards with a smile. "What do you want kid?" One of the guards asked, as they all pulled their swords out.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed as if embarrassed. "Well… you see. Zabuza-sama sent me to report to Gato on the mission. So, can I meet with him?" he asked.

The guards all laughed. "Give me the message and I will pass it along to Gato-sama," the guard replied.

Naruto shook his head. "Nope, can't do that, Zabuza-sama said that I had to deliver it to Gato-teme personally and to kill anyone who didn't let me see him. Also you're out numbered," Naruto stated with a smile as he crossed his hands and whispered 'Shadow clone jutsu'.

"What do you mean? There are four of us and only one of you." The man suddenly saw ten puffs of smoke and now there were eleven exact copies of the brat in front of them. "Clone jutsu will not help you here kid."

Naruto grinned wide. "They would if they were water or shadow clones and guess what? They are shadow clones. All of them have my skills and could kill you. So do I get to see Gato, or not?" Naruto asked happily.

One of the guards stepped forward. "I know some things about ninjutsu and there is no way you could know the 'Shadow Clones' jutsu, it is from Konoha and that jutsu is also a secret jutsu specifically from that village," the man explained.

Two of the clones appeared next to the guard and tapped him on the shoulders. "Real enough?" One of the clones asked.

Naruto shrugged. "Hey I make them and they don't always obey. I would advise you let me through now or I will just go over your dead bodies. I have killed before, so what will it be?" Naruto asked kindly, as the guards parted and let him through the door.

Gato was at his desk with an angry look on his face. "What the hell are you guys letting the brat in here for?" he asked.

"He says he has a message from Zabuza," One of the two guards that accompanied Naruto said in reply.

"Okay kid what is your message?" Gato asked with a smirk on his face.

Naruto returned the smirk, as he disappeared and reappeared between the guards with their own swords drawn at their throats. "I hate this part," Naruto commented, as he pushed the swords into the men's chests, both fell dead. "The message was that you were to give over your fortune and then we would let you live. The whole thing, as we know you should be able to rebuild it again," Naruto cocked his head and smiled. "So what do you say?"

Gato smiled, but was sweating. He then said, "You know kid you have balls. You come in here and threaten me. You want my fortune? You couldn't do anything with it. Guards!" Gato yelled at the top of his lungs.

Zabuza opened the door and peeked in. "You call for someone, Gato?" Zabuza quipped, as Gato's jaw dropped. "You see your men are all dead, even the two idiots with mallets. So gaki, what was his answer?"

Naruto shook his head. "His only answer so far was to call for the guards. I know I got his four that were here and between you and the other two I'm sure that they are all dead. So Gato-teme, what will it be? Sign over your fortune or I could just say, forge your signature, and do it the easy way," Naruto said happily.

Gato pulled out some forms and signed them. "Here take it all, just let me live," he pleaded.

"The money in the vault too?" Naruto asked, as he pointed to the big picture on the wall of Gato. Naruto put his hand on his chin, as if to analyze the picture. "I'm not sure they got your good side… wait to tell the truth you don't have a good side."

Gato grumbled at the jab, as pulled the picture to the side and opened the safe. He then asked, "Anything else you want?"

Naruto was sitting at the desk going over the paperwork. "Hm… Gato shipping is here by signed over to Tazuna of Wave to become 'Wave shipping'. Gato's three million in saving is hereby signed over also to Tazuna of Wave, and all properties in wave are also herby signed over to Tazuna of Wave. Interesting… oh my… my… you didn't… tell me you didn't?" Naruto asked in a mocking tone.

"What are you talking about?" Gato asked not sure what document that the boy was reading.

"Sensei, he called the Mizukage in the day we left." Naruto stated, as he turned the paper towards Gato for him to see and wagged his finger.

"Too bad, I was going to let you live," Zabuza said, as he appeared behind Gato and deftly removed his head from his body with his sword. "So we get it all, or did I kill him too quickly?"

"He may have another million or so hidden elsewhere, but it would take weeks to find it, so not really. Let's get these documents back to Tazuna and get ready to leave, I figure the hunter-nin will be here in about three days." Naruto stated, as he moved to the vault. He quickly sealed the contents. The four left the building after setting off some explosives but made sure that it didn't destroy Gato's body.

Four hours later Kakashi became very alert as he moved defensively to the door only for there to be a knock at it. "Who is it?"

"Demons and friends bearing gifts" a happy voice came from behind the door.

Kakashi began to open the door only to hear Sakura complain, "You aren't going to just open the door are you, Sensei?"

Kakashi looked annoyed at the girl and opened the door to see Naruto with a huge smile, Hinata and Haku attached to each arm, with Zabuza standing behind them. "So are you going to invite us in or do we stay outside?" Zabuza quipped.

Sasuke scowled. "Leave the loser outside, with his band of misfits. I didn't know you swung both ways dobe," Sasuke stated, as he noticed both people attached to Naruto's arms.

Naruto smiled. "At least I swing, you are afraid of what you could get if you tried," Naruto teased, as Sakura blushed at Naruto's implied comment.

"Like I have time to be chasing girls, but you seem to also chase boys," Sasuke retorted.

"At least he has a dick, and apparently he has attracted some people who seem to like it," Sai stated.

Naruto looked at him quizzically. "I'm not sure if I should be offended or proud. You are one strange kid. Now Kakashi-san, can we come in and finish our business with Tazuna-san?" Naruto asked, as Kakashi moved out of the way and allowed the four entry into the home.

Sakura stood, pulled out a kunai and ran at Naruto, only to be intercepted by Hinata who placed her kunai on Sakura's throat. "Kakashi-san your student is impulsive and was going to attack my Naruto-kun. She will either cease her attack or she will cease existing."

Sakura looked at the anger in Hinata's eyes and began to sweat. She put the kunai away and backed away. "At least my Sasuke-kun isn't gay, like your Naruto-baka."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Who said I'm sexually active? I would also not go so far as to proclaim Sasuke-chan isn't gay. When has he ever accepted a date from any of the multitude of girls that followed him? Hinata-chan has asked me out on many dates and I have accepted. Haku has yet to ask thus I can say that I have not had the pleasure of a date with Haku, and if going out with Haku makes you believe I am gay, then so be it," Naruto stated with full confidence and a shrug. "Now Tazuna-san, I have some documents here for you to read and sign." Naruto yelled.

Tazuna entered the dining room and sat at the table, as Naruto put a stack of papers in front of Tazuna. Tazuna's eyes went wide as he began to read. "You're not serious are you?"

Naruto nodded. "You're now the title holder to 'Gato Shipping', now 'Wave shipping'. You also are the holder of all of the business accounts related to said company. We currently have about five-hundred-thousand ryo, but would like you to hold the one point five million in the business for us as shares in the company. Does that meet with your satisfaction?" Naruto stated. "Jeez that was a mouthful."

"I bet you didn't even understand what you said baka," Sakura ridiculed Naruto.

Naruto ignored Sakura much to her annoyance. "We need to wrap this up quickly, as Gato turned the hunter-nins on us from the Mist village," Naruto admitted, as he turned to Kakashi. "So did you get a hold of Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi nodded, as he looked on, and Tazuna signed the documents. "Yes Naruto, she will meet you on the way to Konoha if you wish to head in that direction. I hear that your building was cleaned at village expense by several genin teams. Your other problem was also taken care of, for the most part."

Naruto smiled at Hinata who jumped up and down at the news. "A clean house would be nice," she proclaimed.

"So who holds the paperwork Naruto?" Tazuna asked.

Naruto smiled, "that is the great thing, you do. Oh and if the Water shinobi ask you don't know Zabuza-sensei and Gato will no longer be a problem for you."

Kakashi gasped, and asked "You didn't kill him did you?"

Naruto shook his head. "No I didn't…" Kakashi sighed in relief. "Sensei had the honors," Naruto stated happily, as Sasuke glared at him and Sakura gasped.

Naruto smiled and moved to Haku and Hinata. "Well Naruto Uzumaki's work is done here. We will try to come visit some time Tazuna-san. See ya, Cyclops, teme, pinky and ghost," Naruto stated as the group left the house.

Sai looked at Kakashi. "Why did he refer to me as ghost?" he asked.

Sakura sighed and went into explanation mode, "Just take a look at your pasty white skin and you can understand where his simple mind came up with such a lame reference." Sai smiled at the response.

--------------

Several days along the road Naruto was on watch, as he noticed a woman walking towards them, she was clad in what appeared to be loose bandages, a headband with blue color and dark black hair. "Looks like Kurenai-sensei's here. Zabuza-sensei, you need to be on your best behavior or this will not end well as she's a genjutsu specialist," he ordered. Naruto then raised his head and sniffed the air, and said, "She's here."

Haku and Zabuza looked around but saw nothing. "So, is she a capable shinobi?" Zabuza asked.

Kurenai began to appear in front of the group on the other side of the fire beginning with her head and slowly the rest of her body appeared. "I should hope so, Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan both seemed to sense my approach," Kurenai complimented, as she nodded to the children. "I am Kurenai Yuuhi, jounin and genjutsu specialist to Konoha. Who are you and why are you with my students?"

Zabuza growled, as Haku chuckle. "Kurenai-san, we are Zabuza and Haku Momochi. We have been working with Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan for the last couple months and have freed wave from the clutches of Gato. We are thinking of joining Konoha as shinobi," Haku stated, as she stood and bowed.

Kurenai smiled and nodded to Haku, but then eyed Zabuza. "You are not talking 'Demon of the Mist'?" she asked in an annoyed voice.

Zabuza laughed at the question, he then responded, "Not really, I promised the gaki I would be on my best behavior, as he told me you do not suffer perverts and arrogant men lightly, well I'm both. So, I thought it would be better to let them do the talking and leave me to watch. Good enough for you, Ms. Yuuhi?" Zabuza admitted.

Kurenai nodded. "I suffer perverts to a point, as I know everyone is one to some extent or we would not have children. You understand that if you come with us to Konoha you will have to surrender your weapon and might even face jail time or worse, you could even be sent back to Mist?" Kurenai asked in all honesty.

Zabuza nodded. "I'll do what it takes to make sure my daughter is taken care of. She possesses a Kekkei Genkai for Ice and at this point in time is betrothed to Naruto here, along with Hinata-chan," Zabuza stated, he then raised a hand to forestall disagreement. "And he had no choice in the matter. She likes him a lot and gets along well with Hinata-chan, so it will not interfere with their lives. He will just have to work twice as hard to keep them both happy," Zabuza commented with a chuckle.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow and looked at Naruto. "You know I will be keeping an eye on you to make sure you treat them right, do you not, Naruto-kun?" she asked, as Naruto wore a dejected look, but nodded. "Now I think you might be able to be a genin team with me, and possibly Zabuza as the jounin sensei."

Zabuza sighed. "That is nice and all, but we need to get going. I'm sure the hunters will more than likely be following us by now. We really need to get going," Zabuza proclaimed, as the group cleared camp and headed towards Konoha. Kurenai noticed several things Naruto seemed happy, Hinata seemed more confident and Haku seemed to want to be near both of them.

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A/N: Thanks for waiting, and thanks for the comments, yes even the ones who seemed to be derogatory. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Now to respond to some of your comments:

Lord Martiya: While I like your theory, Sakura wasn't much of a buffer. The only one I would have questioned on loyalty was Sasuke, Naruto was tried and true loyal to Konoha even for the wrongs set upon him. Also Sarutobi might have thought that giving Minato's son as a student to Kakashi might help him heal, my kind words towards the copy nin.

Deathmvp: Yes I more than likely will have them work on that, but in a later chapter.

Lady Laran: The council was able to gather power because of Sarutobi's age and his being away from the job of Hokage for awhile. And they, over the years have garnered power slowly, with placing laws and forcing political agreements so that the village would continue to prosper, but like politicians they would push in small changes that would give them power and hurt those they thought a threat. Thus the weakening of the Hokage, while he is the leader of the village he has some political worries. As with Hiashi being the head of the Hyuuga clan, one man can hold several, but not many in line by force. While Sarutobi controls the military, the others can control the purse strings, thus they have some power. Also remember Konoha has a reputation of being the good guy, if he started to throw edicts out, he would lose that reputation.

GraityTheWizard: It might happen, but not just yet. We still have a long ways to go, before an ice age hits Konoha. I also have some other twists for the story.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

Chapter 5 – Homecoming, good, bad, and angry…

It was just another boring day for both Kotetsu and Izumo, as they were on guard duty at the East gates today. They had already gone over the possible strategies for repulsing a full scale incursion from Iwagakure no Sato from the East no less. They had played over fifty games of Janken (rock-paper-scissors), with no conclusive results, they were by now completely bored and they still had an hour left on their shift.

Izumo glanced down the road in an effort to not fall asleep, he noticed five figures coming up the road towards the village gates. He elbowed his partner, as they looked down the road. One of them was a large man carrying a rather large sword on his back. There was a woman who appeared to be familiar. Then there were what appeared to be three children about the age of most genin graduates. One caught their eyes in particular he had a head crowned in golden blonde hair. "Go get tell the Hokage that 'he's' back," Izumo said, as Kotetsu nodded and disappeared in swirl of leaves.

Izumo got up and left the shack, which was basically his guard station and moved to the middle of the gates. "Halt and identify yourselves!" he called out when the group moved to within fifty feet of the gates.

Naruto shook his head. "You have to be kidding me. You'd think they wouldn't have forgotten me so soon," Naruto said, as he sighed and cupped his mouth. "Fine, its Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Uzumaki, Kurenai Yuuhi, and guests, Zabuza Momochi, and Haku Momochi respectively," he yelled at Izumo

"I can identify four of you, but I would like for Zabuza-san to set all weapons on the ground and step away from them. I would also like for Haku-san to do the same thing, so that Zabuza-san can be taken into custody for determination from the Hokage," Izumo ordered.

Zabuza shrugged, as he put his sword on the ground followed by a couple weapons pouches, and several scrolls. Haku also put her weapon pouches on the ground in front of her and moved behind Naruto. Zabuza looked at Izumo and shrugged, and asked "Is that good enough? The gaki told me this might happen."

Several ANBU appeared around the group and put chakra cuffs on Zabuza. "You're coming with us 'Demon of the Mist'," The bear ANBU ordered, as Zabuza offered no resistance and was led away.

Zabuza looked directly into Naruto's eyes, as he was led away, and ordered, "You take care of Haku, or else."

Naruto smiled warmly and nodded, as Zabuza disappeared around a corner. "So do we wait here or do we get to see Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked playfully, both Hinata and Kurenai didn't miss the anger in him calling the Hokage by his title.

Kotetsu appeared next to Izumo and whispered into his ear. "You can go see the Hokage, and Kurenai-san, he's expecting a full report," Izumo stated, as he moved aside for the four to enter.

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Haku had noticed the angry glances the villagers had kept giving the group, she deduced that they were angry at Naruto for some reason. Their earlier discussion had made her understand how she and Naruto were alike. In Water Country bloodlines were hated and they would either kill the possessor or they would try to run them out of the country, death was preferable for the people of Water. She had asked why Naruto showed such deep hurt in his eyes, but he would never answer. Hinata had told her that Naruto was not liked very much because circumstance surrounding his birth, and that he would have to tell her himself.

This had confused Haku, as she didn't understand why people would hate Naruto enough to give him as bad a life, as Hinata had described. She was not sure of this Kurenai woman either, but she seemed to be on the good side of Naruto and Hinata. "So what can I expect when we meet the Hokage?" Haku asked.

Naruto chuckled, as he said, "he's old." Naruto teased, with an annoyed look on his face.

"Naruto-kun, be nice. I know he wronged us, but he should be able to make some of it up to us by now," Hinata stated, as she also looked rather annoyed.

Kurenai sighed, "Naruto, Hinata, I know that he did do some things wrong, but are you going to hold it against him forever?" Kurenai questioned.

Naruto stopped in the middle of the road and looked directly at Kurenai. "Kurenai-sensei, we both got the short ends of the stick, and he even added to our misery. Should all be forgiven so easily?" Naruto quipped.

Kurenai smirked and looked up, "Well you 'are' engaged to two pretty young women, who are quite talented and they seem to be quite taken with you," she replied. She then looked Naruto in the eyes, and continued, "If he had not done what he had done, he and Haku might be dead by now."

Naruto sighed and lowered his head in recognition, and said, "I guess you're right on that one. Kakashi might have killed Zabuza and if he found out about Haku here. He might have either killed her or brought her back to the village as a trophy for breeding stock for her special 'gift'," Naruto replied, as Kurenai nodded and Haku became angry at the possibilities of her being away from Naruto's protection, let alone his side, or even worse, as some breeding whore.

-------

Naruto allowed the females to enter the office before him and Haku entered just before Naruto, as if to show that she might be a boy, instead of a girl. Naruto inwardly smirked at Haku's antics. "So Hokage-sama, I heard you wanted to speak to us when we returned," Naruto said in a bored tone.

Sarutobi rolled his eyes, as he knew now Naruto had yet to forgive him. Sarutobi read the paper that was handed to him by Kurenai, as he began to acknowledge the people who had just entered his office, "Yes Naruto, I wanted to know how your vacation went with your lovely fiancé. I hope you haven't taken the dive into marriage just yet," Sarutobi teased, with a blush on his face hidden by the paper.

Hinata sighed at this quip, she then said, "Hokage-san, we are not ready to do that just yet."

"I see from this report and the other one that you were in league with the wanted criminal, Zabuza Momochi. Care to explain Hinata?" Sarutobi purposely wanted to get the information from Hinata, as she was more than likely be less angry at him, he was mistaken.

Hinata glared at Sarutobi, she angrily replied, "First, you accuse us of taking of the forbidden fruit of marriage, and then you accuse of willingly consorting with criminals." Haku was surprised that Hinata taking such a forceful approach with a Kage.

Sarutobi sighed, as he understood that putting Hinata on the spot wasn't the right choice. "So then fill me in on what happened then," he asked in a pleasant tone.

Hinata looked at Naruto who nodded, she then said, "We had just finished collecting a bounty on some bandits on one of the coast roads when we ran into Haku and Zabuza. Naruto-kun decided to not look threatening when we saw the two of them, as he recognized Zabuza from the book Kurenai-sensei left with us," Hinata admitted.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, as he looked at Kurenai, but only said, "Please go on."But the look on his face told Kurenai that she could expect a tongue lashing after this meeting.

"Zabuza-sensei…" Hinata attempted to continue, but was interrupted by Sarutobi.

"Sensei, why are you referring to him as sensei?" Sarutobi asked in an attempt end his confusion.

"I was getting to that, Hokage-san. Zabuza-sensei recognized that we had training, but he also decided he would train us. He gave us little choice in the matter, thus the reason why we call him sensei," Hinata explained with an annoyed tone.

"You do understand that you spent time with a wanted criminal, do you not?" Sarutobi asked, as both nodded. Sarutobi sighed, "Now are you ready to start the academy?" Naruto began to snicker and Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, "What is so funny Naruto?"

"Well if your rookie of the year is any indication of the skill of your genin then you should send them all back to the academy with us," Naruto exclaimed.

"I'm not sure I want to know, but what do you mean?" Sarutobi asked.

"Naruto-kun beat Sasuke Uchiha in a sword fight, with training swords," Haku explained.

Sarutobi looked surprised and then looked at Haku, "And who might you be?"

Haku bowed. "I am Haku Momochi, Zabuza's adoptive child. I would also say that if you were to rank them, Naruto-kun is high level genin, Hinata-chan is mid level genin, and I'm low level chuunin in abilities. That is if you were to ask, otousan is a slave driver, though," she admitted.

"And we work great as a team," Naruto proclaimed.

"I should hope so, with your future wife by your side, you should work well as a team," Sarutobi stated in attempt to get a reaction out of Haku, he could swear that he saw a blush from the boy. 'I must be getting old,' Sarutobi thought to himself. "Kurenai-san, I want you to do an assessment on these three to see if they make a good team, and I want a report by the end of the day tomorrow. After I get the report I will decide if they are ready to become genin of the Leaf. Also I want to know why you were fighting Sasuke," Sarutobi ordered.

Naruto smirked at this request, "We were ordered by Gato to kill the bridge-builder, Tazuna. I also heard Gato getting set to betray us, so I proposed to Sensei, that we go meet this Tazuna fella and figure what is worth more, a man who asks us to do jobs, but does not pay us or a man who just wants to rebuild his country. I convinced sensei that if he followed Gato, that he would not make a good Kage. So after trading some insults with my former classmates, Sasuke-chan and I played a little. Apparently your darling Uchiha-chan got his head handed to him by the 'dead-last' of the class. Don't worry, I didn't hurt him… well, other than in his pride," Naruto explained with a chuckle. "Oh, and Gato is no longer a problem."

"So we performed your team's mission and protected the bridge-builder. Do we qualify at shinobi yet?" Hinata asked.

Sarutobi sighed, "What happened to the shy little Hyuuga girl we all knew and loved?" he asked.

Hinata and Naruto scowled at the Hokage. Hinata lifted the leather headband and pointed to the curse mark on her head, and yelled at Sarutobi, "This is what happened to her! The Hyuuga clan assaulted me and branded me, even though I was never supposed to receive it! You forget that we have both been hurt by that clan! Yet, you did nothing to either ease the pain or even believe us! We could also leave and go to another village," Hinata angrily proclaimed.

Sarutobi coughed, but he said in his defense, "Even though I didn't visit after the assaults, I did worry about both of you."

Naruto burst out laughing. "You proclaim that you are there to protect the village, yet you don't protect it, from itself. What if they had killed me in the assault and 'it' go out?" Naruto hinted, as Sarutobi noticed the confused look on Haku's face.

"So are you ready to go back to the academy?" Sarutobi asked, attempting to change the subject, yet again.

"Let me see… No!" Naruto shouted. "Give me the exam right now! All three of us could pass it right now, and I swear if there is a genjutsu on my test I will break all the genjutsu within a mile radius," Naruto proclaimed, much to Sarutobi's surprise.

Sarutobi nodded, "Fine, go to the academy tomorrow with Kurenai-san and have the test administered. If you all pass then you may become a genin team."

Naruto smirked. "Okay, Hokage-sama. We will take the test and become a new team. Time to go home Hinata-chan, Haku," Naruto said, as he left the office, both girls right behind him.

Sarutobi looked at Kurenai, "So what is the story of the boy, Haku?"

Kurenai smirked at Sarutobi who raised an eyebrow. "'She', is Naruto's second wife-to-be, documents have already been filed in both Wave country and here in Fire country. Other than her being skilled and Zabuza's adoptive daughter, I haven't much information to give you, as the three of them were quiet on the way here. I know Zabuza did it to protect Haku, but I'm not sure why," Kurenai explained.

"So he's still mad at me," Sarutobi said in a sad voice.

Kurenai scowled at the Hokage. "Well, you didn't visit them after the attacks. He looked up to you, and then you chose to not even go to see them. They broke five of his ribs and his right arm, luckily the Kyuubi healed him. This village has turned its back on a hero, and he feels you did too. Added to that the scroll incident and you're fighting an uphill battle with them," Kurenai admitted with a sigh. "He doesn't hate you, though. He is just deeply disappointed and hurt. You kept them in the dark about things you shouldn't have," Kurenai chided.

"You know as well as I do that there are things to be considered, politics is one of them. The council in a concession to my law, and forbade me from revealing his heritage until he made genin for his first scroll and jounin for the second scroll," Sarutobi admitted.

Kurenai shook her head. "And we all know how well they kept his secret from the village. How about how they have pushed for the banks and business to treat him? He either isn't allowed into places or is overcharged for inferior quality goods and foods. Why do you think he buys so much ramen? He knows now the nutritional value of it, and yes he does like the flavor, but thanks to them his diet may have ruined his growth. Apparently Hinata and Haku have worked on changing his diet, so that he gets the proper nutrition he needs. Also have you investigated the deaths of his family? I'm sure he will be asking, he currently assumes that you haven't and wants to give you a little more time," Kurenai admitted.

"Yes. The investigation is nearly complete in both cases. I'm afraid there can be no prosecution though," Sarutobi stated.

Kurenai looked surprised, "How can you and the council protect murderers?" she demanded.

"By the persons who perpetrated the crimes already being dead, they were Uchiha," Sarutobi admitted.

"How convenient, Naruto will not be pleased about that. He might even turn Sasuke in to a eunuch, if he finds out that Sasuke's family had something to do with their deaths and more than likely the closing of several of the Uzumaki clan accounts. He also is not pleased with the council, and I hope you remember what happened at the bank," Kurenai reminded Sarutobi.

"Yes, I remember. The council was furious that he now has access to the money from the Uzumaki clan. They wanted to immediately seize the funds and put them into the village general fund. I stopped it stating that they would be stealing from refugees from another village. This stopped them, as they didn't want to tarnish the village's reputation," Sarutobi stated angrily.

"If word got out how we treated Naruto, the son of one of our Hokage's, and that he was a jinchuuriki, there wouldn't be much left to our village's reputation. Is there anything else, as I have to talk to Iruka-san to get the test ready for the three of them tomorrow?" Kurenai asked in a neutral tone.

Sarutobi shook his head, and said, "No, that will be all for now. Report here before you go and test them in the morning."

----------

Naruto, Hinata, and Haku climbed the stairs to the door. "I hope otousan is okay," Haku commented to no one in particular.

"He will be fine. We will check on him tomorrow. He gave up without a fight and gave no resistance, so he should be fine. He knew that this would happen, I'm just hoping that sensei is released," Naruto admitted, as he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly.

Naruto opened the door, letting the girls lead the way into the single bedroom apartment. Hinata suddenly gasped and Naruto ran in quickly. "What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, as he looked around for a threat only to find the interior of his apartment had been changed.

The kitchen was now larger with a newer fridge and more counter surfaces than before. There was a solid oak table with four chairs. The expanded living room had a couch and newer television on a stand.

The three wandered down into the bedroom to find it also enlarged with a queen size bed. They left the bedroom for the bathroom which was cozy for two before now could fit all three of them in comfort at the same time with a couple showers, two toilets, and a large bath.

They found stairs leading down, near a storage closet. The area below appeared to be a workshop/training dojo. It was not big enough to do jutsu, but they could practice taijutsu and weapons training down in this area.

Naruto whistled, "Looks to me like the old man wants to get back on our good side, doesn't it Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, as Hinata nodded.

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Kurenai knocked on a door to have it opened by Iruka. "Hello Kurenai-san. What can I do for you?" he asked groggily.

Kurenai smiled, and said, "They came back today." Kurenai nodded, as Iruka's eyes asked if it was true, and continued, "Apparently Naruto has gotten himself into more trouble."

Iruka laughed. "What did he do this time? I hope Hinata-chan isn't pregnant," Iruka stated worriedly.

Kurenai smiled, shook her head and chuckled lightly. "No, she isn't. No, Naruto now has brought back Zabuza Momochi and is also engaged to his daughter. They were also, all his students, they met up with him along the way and he trained them," Kurenai explained, as she entered Iruka's apartment at his bidding. "Zabuza gave himself up at the gates without a fight, but told Naruto to take care of Haku-chan. Oh, and do not spread that Haku is a girl or Naruto will be quite angry, as will Hinata-chan. And now for the reason I came by. You need to get three genin graduation exams ready by tomorrow so that we can test the three of them," Kurenai said.

"Okay, I can do that. I have a few left over from the last exams," Iruka replied. "So, how are they really doing? And what can you tell me about this Haku girl?"

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Naruto looked at the fridge and stood in awe, and said, "Fresh food and none of it spoiled!"

Haku was worried about her future husband, if he reacted to fresh food in this way. "Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"Yes, Haku-chan?" he replied.

"Why are you impressed by fresh food?" Haku asked knowing that Naruto would answer, but she was not ready for the answer he would give.

"Haku-chan, please sit down, there are few things we need to discuss," Naruto said in a worried voice, and this only amplified Haku's worry. "There's something I need to tell you about me and want you to hold judgment until after you have heard me out," Naruto said and then sighed, as he prepared himself to begin. Hinata moved up and began to rub his shoulders. Haku now knew this was important. "Haku-chan, I need to know what you know about Bijuu and Jinchuuriki."

Haku contemplated the question before giving an answer, she began, "Bijuu are tailed beasts that have ravaged the elemental nations from time to time. Jinchuuriki are those people have been used to stop those rampages, by having the beasts sealed within them."

Naruto nodded, "Do you know how old I am?"

Haku smiled, "Yes, Naruto-kun. You will be thirteen in a couple weeks," Haku answered happily.

Naruto weakly smiled at Haku, "Have you heard of the Kyuubi?" he asked, but she heard the quiver in his voice.

"Yes, it is considered the strongest of the Bijuu, and it attacked… Konoha… about thirteen years ago…" The realization hit Haku and her smile faded to a frown. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun. You're the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, aren't you?" she asked timidly, as she put her hand over her mouth.

Naruto nodded, as Hinata continued to try to relax Naruto, and then she asked, "Are you afraid of him now that you know his biggest secret?" Hinata asked timidly.

Haku shook her head, as tears streamed down her face, "No. I don't hate Naruto-kun. How could I hate the boy that I love?" Naruto looked up at this statement, hope shown in his eyes, as Hinata smiled warmly at Haku. "As you know, I was also spurned because of something I couldn't control. You have heard of the bloodline purges in the land of Water, right?" Haku asked knowing that they would have some knowledge if only a little. Naruto and Hinata both nodded. Haku continued, "Those in Water with bloodlines are hated and hunted. My mother had one of these bloodlines, the Hyouton, or Ice Element bloodline. I of course didn't know this as she hid herself in an attempt to have a normal life. She met a man, and fell in love, they had a child, me. I grew up a happy child, until my bloodline began to surface. As a child, I didn't know I was doing anything that was considered wrong, my mother found me and told me to never do it again. Unfortunately my father had also found out and murdered my mother. Later that day, I found her dead at home, after I had come home from playing outside," Haku recounted, as the tears continued to flow. "My father and several of the villagers found me at home and I had to defend myself," Haku's voice quivered, as she spoke.

Naruto and Hinata both moved around the table and embraced Haku in a hug. "Haku-chan, we both love you and are here for you," Naruto said in a reassuring tone.

"Thank you both, but I must continue. I lived on the streets for a year or two before otousan found me. You know most of the rest from that point on, as he gave me a purpose to live," Haku stated, as she leaned into Naruto's shoulder and hugged Hinata's waist. "All three of us have known pain. It's just strange that we are all now going to be family. Hinata-chan, as my sister in marriage to Naruto-kun," Haku admitted happily, as she wiped her tears from her eyes.

Naruto held Haku, as Hinata moved away to make dinner. The three quietly ate dinner and then went to bed. Naruto laid in the middle of the two girls as they fell asleep, Haku snuggled tight to Naruto as if to never let him go.

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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have the next chapter ready. The reason for the short chapter was because I found a good breakpoint for the story.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: This is a fan-fiction story so I only claim my tweaks to cannon...

Chapter 6 – Testing…

Naruto woke up first and attempted to and succeeded at extracting himself from both girls, as nature was calling very loudly. He left the room, but didn't notice two shadows follow him to the bathroom. He stood relieving himself and turned when he was done, only to see both girls looking at him with his boxers pulled down. Naruto sighed, as he knew he was now in trouble and quickly pulled up his boxer and flushed the toilet. "So are you now happy women?" Naruto asked teasingly.

Haku moved over and kissed him solidly on the lips then backed off as Hinata followed suit. "Seeing you naked or not, it doesn't matter. We're happy to be with you, Naruto-kun," Haku exclaimed, as Hinata nodded agreement. "You may remain and join us in getting ready for today, as we have already seen you naked. It is only fair that we return the favor, and no, we will not be doing anything until the marriage if we can help it," Haku teased lovingly.

Naruto smiled, as he walked back into the bedroom and got out his clothes for the day, Haku and Hinata followed suit, as they grabbed three towels. They entered the bathroom and cleaned themselves. All three blushed profusely, as they attempted to hold back nose bleeds, Naruto had a harder time as he also couldn't conceal his erection.

The three left the left the bathrooms with their virginity intact, if only the physical portion. All three dressed in silence. Naruto put on his new black, orange, and white outfit. The shirt and pants were modeled after a tiger and its stripes. Hinata wore dark purple pants with a striped lavender and dark striped coat. Haku wore a blue and brown patterned battle kimono. All three wore black sandals.

Naruto smiled, as he placed breakfast on the table. "See, I told you I could find a good outfit that had orange on it and it should help me with camouflage," he exclaimed.

Hinata giggled, as Haku laughed. "Yes, Naruto-kun you did," Haku replied.

Naruto shot a concerned look at Haku, and asked, "I hope the wrapping aren't too tight and restrict your breathing or movement."

Haku smiled and kissed Naruto, as she sat down. "Thank you for your concern, Naruto-kun. I'm used to wearing them now, as I usually don't wear them at night. It does limit my stamina some, but it also helps to push me harder to increase it also. I also think I do better, when I play as a boy. Hinata-chan can act like a girl, as we will need to keep up the perception of a two male, one female squad, if we want to be shinobi for Konoha," Haku said reminding Naruto.

Naruto sat down and began to eat after Hinata had also seated herself and she also began to also eat. The next hour was spent going over possible answers for questions on the written test, as both Haku and Hinata knew Naruto would have his biggest problem there. After cleaning up the dishes the three left the apartment and locked up.

They met Kurenai on the way to the academy. "Are you three ready to take the test? I'm sure you should be able to pass the practical skills, but I know Naruto might have problems with the written test," she pointed out.

Naruto scowled, but then he then smirked. "Well if there is a genjutsu I will destroy it and then do the written test. Otherwise, I should do fine," Naruto exclaimed. "How is Zabuza-sensei, Kurenai-sensei?" he asked in a concerned voice.

Kurenai looked up, and thought for a second. "Last time I saw him, about thirty minutes ago, he was having a nice conversation with Ibiki. They actually seem to be getting along," Kurenai commented in confusion, as the trio laughed.

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The group was group was greeted by Iruka at the academy. "Morning, I hope you're ready for the test," Iruka commented, as the group quietly entered the academy. Iruka was disturbed by Naruto not proclaiming that he was going to pass the test without a problem.

Naruto smiled, as he passed Iruka, and calmly said, "I think I'm ready for the test, Iruka-sensei."

This brought a smile to Iruka's face. "Good, I hope you do better this time. I also made sure that there were no genjutsu on your paper, so you will not have to do genjutsu without that being on the test," Iruka said, as he attempted to reassure Naruto.

The three were separated to different tables to take the test, in an attempt to make sure there would be no cheating, this had been a stipulation set down by the Hokage. All three waited for the signal to start. "Begin," Iruka stated, as he sat down at the desk at the front of the room with Kurenai sitting in a chair next to him watching the three. Both looked at each other, as Naruto smirked and both girls blushed. Both adults looked at each other and wondered what was going on.

Naruto was blazing through the test sure of each answer until he saw ice forming on his desk. The ice formed the kanji for 'good luck, love Haku and Hinata'. Naruto smirked, as he knew that Haku had done this at the prodding of Hinata. Naruto finished the test just after Haku and Hinata turned over their papers.

Iruka was surprised that Naruto had finished so quickly, the questions were somewhat harder than the last genin exams they had taken. Iruka looked at the three, and asked, "Are you all done with your tests? Do you need to double check your answers?" He got nods to his first question and all three shook their heads to the second question. Iruka collected the tests and quickly graded them. He was impressed all three had perfect tests, although Naruto's essay was a little lacking. His answer for what is the Hokage's job was short and concise, but Naruto added a commentary to the end about the 'Third attempting to make up for something that he should have never had to do in the first place' brought a smile to Iruka's face.

All three moved to the dojo for taijutsu test. Iruka decided that he would test them himself with Naruto first, Haku second and Hinata third so that he could recover if she used Juken style. Naruto's taijutsu was sloppy, but well above the academy requirements. Haku's taijutsu was concise and left little for him to fault her on. Hinata's Taijutsu was much improved, he had heard about her match with Ame and wondered what had happened to improve both Naruto and Hinata's skills so much. Kurenai was also pleased, as she noticed that Naruto and Hinata were more relaxed in their fighting styles and wasted less effort with their strikes and blocks. While Naruto's still needed a lot of improvement, it was still quite an improvement from when she left them in the coastal town. She would have to thank Zabuza for training them so well.

"Given what I've seen so far. None of you should have any problems with passing this exam, but don't let it go to your heads," Iruka complimented, but his warning was directed at Naruto, who just gave a big foxy grin.

Next, was the weapons test and Naruto looked at the training dummies. "You got rid of the one with magnets, didn't you?" Naruto asked, as Iruka nodded. "How many do we need to throw and what type, as we have brought our own weapons, Iruka-sensei? You know, so we don't get junk, no offense, but after last time I want to be sure about what we are doing," Naruto commented, as Iruka nodded.

"You will need to hit the targets with ten shuriken, ten kunai, and ten senbon. There are a possible thirty points in this portion. Yeah, I know makes the math easier for grading," Iruka admitted, as he rubbed his finger under his nose. Naruto began to laugh as the girls began to giggle. "We have enough targets for all of you to use one target for each type of weapon. We want you to hit the targets not critical locations. This is an accuracy test not a test to find out if you know how to kill or disable," Iruka pointed out, as the three lined up and pulled out shuriken.

All three studied the targets for a minute then threw their shuriken. They moved on to the next dummy and followed the same procedure, as they did for the last set of dummies. Iruka moved to the dummies and scored then, while Naruto had the lowest, with score twenty-eight out of thirty, they all scored near perfect. He appeared to be lacking skill with senbon. The three collected their weapons and waited for the ninjutsu test.

This test went quicker than before as all three did the 'Transformation' technique at the same time. The 'Substitution' technique went quickly too, as all three just used chairs around the room to replace with themselves. Naruto looked sheepishly at Iruka, "do I have to do a regular clone?"

Iruka shook his head. "I need you to make at least three battle ready clones, either one at a time, or as a group," Iruka replied, as Naruto sighed in relief. Haku made three water clones, as Hinata made one water clone and two standard clones, Naruto made five shadow clones. Iruka smiled, as he looked at Kurenai, and said, "You all pass with near or perfect scores. Naruto lost two points on the weapons testing otherwise you all passed with perfect scores. I might add that you all did better than the rookie of the year," Iruka commented, as he knew Naruto would be pleased to know that he beaten Sasuke.

Naruto and the girls smiled, as they heard the news, they weren't surprised, but were happy. Kurenai stood and looked them over. "Meet me at training ground seven in five minutes. There we will conclude the genin test," Kurenai said, as she disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Iruka looked up and saw all three make a single hand seal and disappear in a swirl of leaves. "When did they learn that one?" Iruka questioned, as he began his report to the Hokage.

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Kurenai sat on the training log waiting for her three charges to enter the area. She was quickly surprised when all three appeared in swirls of leaves. "So you have learned that technique. Good, but it is only good for leaving an area, and isn't a good one for combat," Kurenai commented. "Now we will begin your last test to become genin. I don't normally use this test, but the Hokage insisted that I should," Kurenai said, as she pulled out two bells. "The genin test fails out sixty-six percent of all those that pass the academy test. So as it stands I'm adjusting it so that two of you can become genin and one of you will go back to the academy. I need you to come at me with the intent to kill."

Naruto scratched his head. "Um… Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto queried.

Kurenai nodded, and replied, "Yes, Naruto. What is it that you need?"

"Well, there are two things. First either we all pass or we all fail," he said, as both Haku and Hinata nodded their agreement at his comment. "Second, how in the heck could we hope to beat a jounin, delay maybe, kill not a chance. I know we are good, but we aren't that good, even if you're not at Zabuza-sensei's level, all three of us have no chance. I know you're a genjutsu specialist, my weakness. If say your taijutsu is at high chuunin level all three of us might have a chance to scratch you, but beat you, no," Naruto replied with much conviction.

"What Naruto-kun is trying to say is that, while we are skilled and work well as a team, but we cannot compete with a jounin, and we know it. We could give you a run for your money, but we know we would ultimately lose, as we lack both the training and the experience to fight on even close to an even playing field," Hinata explained, as Haku nodded.

Kurenai looked angry. "So either all of you pass or all of you fail, is that correct?" She asked, as all three nodded. "Very well then, I have no choice…" Kurenai paused for dramatic effect, then she smiled, and said, "You all pass, but I still want to do an assessment of your skills. So we will have a battle"

All three genin nodded, they waited for Kurenai to make a signal, "Begin." She proclaimed, as the three disappeared. 'Good they all have hidden well for genin, Naruto must be having problems with hiding his chakra, as I know where he is but Haku and Hinata have hidden well, no chakra signature or traces of them otherwise,' Kurenai thought to herself.

Naruto appeared on the small creek running through the training grounds. "You're not hiding very well Naruto," Kurenai proclaimed.

Naruto smiled and ran through several hand seals, and said, "Hidden mist jutsu!" As mist suddenly erupted from the stream and encompassed the area. The visibility was almost nothing, as Kurenai couldn't even see her hand in front of her face.

Kurenai suddenly felt a touch on her right shoulder and felt her arm go limp. Kurenai felt the next attack coming and jumped out the way, as the area she had just occupied was filled with senbon. She landed only to have to jump again. The mist lessened, but was still thick. Kurenai reached out with her senses to hear the next set of senbon came in. She jumped to find herself landing on the water with a splash. 'This game of cat and mouse has to end or they will beat me,' she thought in a near panic. She was impressed by the strategy they had come up with. Naruto would conceal their movements while Hinata snuck up on her and disabled her arm taking away her ability to do jutsu. Lastly using Haku's accuracy, as long range support, 'I'm just worried if they use either 'Shadow clones' or 'Shadow clone shuriken' jutsu to spam the area with either clones or weapons. That might just kill me. Not able to take on a jounin as a team, my foot,' Kurenai complained mentally.

"Do you give up Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto asked, but his voice came from all round her.

"I surrender," Kurenai proclaimed, as the mist fell and she was surrounded by a hundred Naruto. Hinata was standing on a tree next to Haku both holding senbon ready to throw them at a moment's notice. She shifted from her ready position, she then said, "I'm impressed. You work well as a team, better than most. Were you trying to lull me into a false sense of security about your skills? Or did your skills truly increase by that much?" she asked, truly wanting to know.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, as his clones dispersed. "Not sure what you mean, Sensei," he admitted.

Kurenai motioned for all of them to gather around and sit down near her in the training field, they all came and sat quickly. "I was quite surprised when they were able to hide their chakra, but you weren't able too, Naruto," she explained. "But when you did the mist jutsu, I figured you were going to use that to hide. Instead Hinata went on the offensive and disabled my arm, while Haku sent senbon into disable me further. Then you also positioned me to be on the creek so that I would make more noise and thus be an easier target. You should be proud of yourselves. You beat a jounin within several minutes, even if you had me surrounded with Naruto clones. Also, if the clones know anything about kenjutsu, then I would have been in big trouble. Will you accept me, as your sensei and authority?" she asked.

Naruto, Hinata and Haku all nodded agreement, as they agreed to follow Kurenai.

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Naruto, Haku and Hinata were all dressed in white kimonos and sitting under a waterfall, as Kurenai supervised their advanced chakra control training. Naruto seemed to have the biggest problem meditating, either something was bothering him or he just couldn't concentrate. "Naruto, you need to relax and allow your chakra to flow, use your chakra to shield yourself from the water," Kurenai instructed.

Naruto knew Kurenai was correct, but there was something just beyond his grasp causing him not to be able to concentrate. He was at ease, but every time he would relax and try to concentrate his chakra to his shoulders and head, it would build then suddenly it would burst out. It wasn't a big burst, just enough for him not to be able to do the exercise. After what seemed like the hundredth time this happened, he opened his eyes, and said, "Kurenai-sensei, my chakra doesn't seem to flow right, it seems to come in waves."

Kurenai, Haku, and Hinata were all surprised by this statement, but Kurenai wanted to get to the bottom of this problem so, she said, "Hinata, use your Byakugan and watch Naruto do this exercise."

Hinata nodded and activated her doujutsu. Naruto relaxed and began the exercise. She was surprised that she had not noticed this before during their earlier training, but Naruto was right. His chakra did flow in waves like a heartbeat, as best as she could explain it. She looked closer only to find the wave caused by concentrated chakra that was wrapped around a small amount of red chakra. "Naruto-kun is correct, in a way," she explained.

Kurenai was confused, and asked, "What do you mean, Hinata?"

"Naruto-kun's chakra has dense chakra that is surrounding Kyuubi chakra, as it passes through his system. The chakra surrounding the flakes of Kyuubi chakra is denser than his regular chakra. There is a rhythm to it though," she answered.

Naruto continued to try to focus, as he began to feel a wave coming on, he lessened the chakra output. Hinata watched in amazement, as Naruto appeared to be getting the rhythm of his chakra and the chakra began to shield him from the falls. Suddenly, a large pulse went ripping through his coils and his concentration was lost. Naruto couldn't understand, until he heard a yawn in his head. After the yawn the rhythm became softer and less intense.

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Naruto opened his eyes and found himself sitting in a tunnel, more like a sewer system with a small amount of water on the floor. He sniffed the air, and found it to be stale and held a light mildew smell, but not the smell of an actual sewer. He stood and began to search around.

Naruto came to an opening that was larger than any others than he had found so far. He entered to see an enormous room. The ceiling was so high as to be out of his view. Two large barred doors stood in front of him. He also noticed a paper stuck at the cusp of the gate doors that said 'Seal'. He continued forward not knowing what or who was behind said seal. He had he knew, though.

He looked into the area behind the bars only to see darkness. He listened carefully and heard rhythmic breathing coming from behind the bars. 'Must be the Fox,' he thought to himself.

Suddenly a pair of eyes opened, they had red pupils, and had an eerie glow to them. "**You would be right on that one, you pathetic excuse of a mortal!**" a booming voice came from inside the cage.

"So this is where you hide yourself, fox?" he asked.

The eyes elevated to the middle of the cage before a toothy grin appeared. The fox then spoke, "**So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?**"

"You're messing up my chakra, quit it," Naruto demanded.

The fox chuckled, and said, "**I have done no such thing! I like your spunk, though. Seek out the other seals upon yourself, you will find your answer there. Now, disturb me no more, as we have no need of each other as of yet,**" Kyuubi ordered, and laid its head down and closed its eyes.

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Naruto shook his head, and sat down. He closed his eyes, and then felt the water hitting him again. Naruto opened his eyes only to see three sets of worried eyes, one brown, one other white with a lavender tinge, and the final set were red. Naruto smiled, as he looked at the girls he had come to care for so much. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Hinata brushed away the water near her eyes, either she was crying or the water from the falls was in her eyes, Naruto didn't know which. Hinata lunged forward and embraced him in a tight hug, she then said, "The red chakra increased and you would not respond to our calls, we were so worried."

Naruto returned the hug, and replied, "I got to meet the fox, if only for a moment. It said that it wasn't the cause of the fluctuations in mine and its chakra."

Kurenai had heard what Naruto had said. This worried her that he had both talked to the demon and also that it had told him that it wasn't the reason for the fluctuations. "What did it say, Naruto?" she asked.

Naruto took a deep breath, and said, "It said that I need to 'seek out the other seals upon myself', whatever that means."

Kurenai was definitely worried now, if Naruto told her that there were other seals on him it would take some time to figure out what was going on. "We'll need to talk to the Hokage about these seals, Naruto," Kurenai said.

Naruto scowled, and asked, "What if he is the one who put some seals on me? How can I trust him after what he has done and failed to do?"

Kurenai shrugged, and said, "How do we know the fox is telling the truth?"

Naruto snickered, and replied, "It had just woken up and didn't really want to talk to me."

Kurenai was happy to have dodged the question about trusting the Hokage, but she did want some answers. "I want you girls to take Naruto home and go over him with a fine tooth comb. Search every inch of him for seals, I know he is studying them, but I want to know if there are any others, other than the seal the Kyuubi is trapped in," she ordered.

Naruto sighed, as both Hinata and Haku blushed at the prospect of doing a strip search of Naruto. All three answered the order with, "Hai!"

"Now head home and do the search, have him focus chakra while you search. I would also use chakra on his body to try to reveal any hidden seals," Kurenai suggested.

The three changed out of their wet clothes and headed home, and Kurenai quickly headed to the Hokage's office.

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As soon as they got home Naruto became very nervous. "Girls, I didn't want to have you guys…" he said, in an embarrassed tone.

Haku blushed and took off her kimono and wrappings, and said, "Does this put you more at ease, Naruto-kun?" she asked standing only in her panties.

Naruto held his composure for a moment until he turned to see Hinata, who was also only in her panties. Naruto fell backwards, as blood streamed out of his nose. Hinata turned to Haku, and asked, "Do you think we over did it a little?" Haku nodded, as Hinata continued, "Let's get him stripped and on the bed so we can do the exam."

Haku and Hinata proceeded to strip Naruto and then carefully inspect him, as he lay unconscious. The girls became serious, as the minutes passed they found only one seal at the base of his neck. Haku carefully copied it down on a scroll they had set to the side so that they could have Naruto help them understand what it did. Naruto finally woke up about twenty minutes later.

"What happened? The last thing I knew both of you were nearly naked and…" Naruto immediately covered his eyes and blushed.

Hinata and Haku giggled at Naruto, and Hinata said, "Dear sweet Naruto-kun, we were, but not right now, as we have found a seal."

Naruto sighed relief, but also wondered if he should have worried about seeing the girls in that state of undress, as he had already seen them naked before.

Haku touched his arm and looked into his eyes. "We need you to gather some chakra so that we can continue the exam, Naruto-kun," she said kindly.

Naruto brought his hands together into the ram seal and gathered chakra. The seal on his stomach appeared as did several others. Haku copied all the seals, five in all on to a scroll. Hinata found a sixth on his skull under his hair. Naruto then got some clothes on and started to research the seals. He figured out several quickly, the Kyuubi seal was easiest to identify, but he couldn't figure it out totally. With his limited knowledge, he decided that it hadn't been tampered with. The seal on the back of his neck was a chakra inhibitor, more than likely to stunt his mental development, as was the one on the top of his head. Two others were set to mess with his chakra directly, they would cause his chakra to not flow to the seal in steady stream thus allowing for the leakage of Kyuubi chakra into his system, those had to go and quickly. The last seal, Naruto couldn't make head or tails of it. It appeared to be both an inhibitor, and one that would open a flood gate to something. Naruto put his notes down on the scroll and headed to dinner and then to bed with the girls in tow. Tomorrow would be a big day.

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A/N: I have little to say but I hope you enjoyed, as I finish the edits to the other chapters....


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: See chapter 1 for that, as I don't own Naruto…

Chapter 7 –

Naruto and the girls woke ready for a meeting with the Hokage and their assignments for missions. They were disappointed, as it appeared that they needed to do D-ranked missions to improve teamwork and improve their skills. Naruto initially complained until the Hokage handed him several new scrolls that he had apparently missed, when he entered the vaults. Needless to say Naruto was happy to get more scrolls from his parents, as they were addressed to him from both of them, and even a few were even from his aunt. The Hokage also said that the investigation was almost complete, but it appears that most of the guilty parties were now dead and unreachable for prosecution. Naruto handed a copy of the scroll that identified the seals and notes on the ones that they had found last night, to the Hokage in the hopes of getting some new information on the seals and possibly breaking them.

Sarutobi read the notes and explained to Naruto, from what he could decipher about the seals, which was only a little more than Naruto had. He also said that he would summon Jiraiya, Konoha's resident seals master to help in the investigation. Sarutobi again apologized to Naruto for the mistreatment. Naruto accepted the apology, but not after complaining about the abuse, rather vocally.

For the next few weeks the team did several D-ranked missions a day. They quickly got a reputation for, one, catching the 'demon cat' named Tora quickly, with an ice cage, and for their work at gardening. Also the Inuzuka seemed to call upon them frequently for work at their kennels. This gave Naruto time to catch up with Kiba and find out about his team. Kiba also found out about Naruto's teams little secret.

"So how is it working with two girls, Naruto?" Kiba asked.

Naruto looked both startled and surprised all in one. "What… what do you mean two girls?" he asked timidly.

Kiba laughed, and said, "It's okay Naruto, her secret is safe with my clan," he said, as he nodded towards Haku, and then continued, "and I'm sure that the rest of my team will also keep it a secret too." He smiled and pointed at his nose, and said, "You know we can smell things better than most. I will admit she hides it well, but we can still smell her scent. Mom and sis know about it too. They know you're a friend and that they're good girls. That's why we keep on hiring your team. It also helps that you guys do good work," he exclaimed, as he chuckled.

Naruto sighed in relief, and said, "Thanks Kiba, you're a good friend."

Kiba laughed. "Don't sweat it. So, are they both yours? Or can I ask her out on a date?" he asked with a blush.

Naruto laughed this time, and replied, "I'm betrothed to both of them, sorry."

Kiba couldn't hide his surprise. "B… b… both of them? How?" he asked, wondering how this kid had both the worst and the best luck at odd intervals.

"Hinata-chan and I have been betrothed since soon after her birth, and Haku-chan only happened a couple months ago," Naruto admitted.

"Doesn't Hinata have a problem with you having to be married to both her and Haku?" Kiba asked, as he was worried for his other friend.

Naruto shook his head, and said, "Nope, they came to an agreement, and Zabuza-sensei gave me no options in that one, other than marrying them both and protecting both the girls he considers his daughters. So both Hinata and I accept it. Haku doesn't seem to mind either."

Kiba blushed, elbowed him, and then whispered, "So, have you gotten any action from either of them?"

Naruto's eyes went wide, as he yelled, "What?"

Kiba turned to the girls to make sure they hadn't noticed and weren't coming over, he then said, "Keep it down, Naruto. I was only wondering, jeez."

Naruto wore a look of disgust, he then spoke in an even tone, and said, "I would never take advantage of either of them. I love them both, and we're too young for that just yet. That may happen, but not for a while."

"Man Naruto, you're just boring. If I had two hot girls ready to marry me, I would be all over them," Kiba exclaimed.

Naruto laughed, and replied, "And your mother would kill you for having pups too early." He then gently shoved Kiba in the shoulder with a huge grin.

Kiba scratched the back of his head and then laughed. "I guess you're right. Either mom, sis, or the girls would stop me," he admitted.

Tsume came over and ruffled Kiba's hair, and said, "And don't you forget it, pup. I'm impressed with you, Naruto-kun. You've proven you're going to be a good alpha. Keep those two safe and you'll be a happy man."

Naruto blushed at the compliment, and replied, "You bet!"

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The next week saw their first C-ranked mission, clearing out bandits from the local area. Gai's team had the record for clearing bandits before, but Kurenai's team bested it by a full day and even had more bandits to deal with. The team also worked on finding some Wind based jutsu for Naruto and Haku. Naruto also went through the scrolls that Sarutobi gave him and found them to be more personal correspondence to him from his parents about their thought and such to their as yet unborn son. Naruto was still angry with his father for what he did, but also understood to a point why he did it, not that most of the village deserved his protection.

On a side note Naruto was allowed to binge on ramen once a week, as Haku and Hinata understood it helped in replenishing his energy, with all the carbohydrates in the ramen, they just worried about the possible side effects of ramen on his system, as they had done so much to get him on a healthy diet and improve his general health. Hinata hated to admit it, but Naruto's body had improved over the last several months and Haku agreed. When Hinata and Kurenai had seen him at the hot springs, he was just skin and bones, with little definition other than some fat on his face that hid his malnourishment. Since the diet though, Naruto had put on some weight, nearing what his should be, and growing about a half inch in height. His muscles also began to show signs of growing, where before he was stringy, now he showed some definition and his ribs didn't show through his skin, as if he were emaciated.

During this time Naruto also met a jounin named Hayate, who seemed to have a way with swords. They became friends and would occasionally spar. Zabuza's sentence was handed down by the village tribunal. He would serve three months in prison and then be put on the supervision of a jounin, namely Kurenai to help her with her team.

Team 7 had returned and gave a report to the Hokage that didn't put Naruto's action in a good light. The civilian council tried to make this a problem, but they were blocked by Sarutobi, as Naruto had become a shinobi of the Leaf. Sasuke seethed at the fact that Naruto wouldn't be punished for his affront.

The team also spent time in the library. Naruto of course was under a transformation jutsu to look female and not be caught by the librarian. Naruto also found out that the chuunin exams were going to start in a little more than a month and that teams only had to meet a few requirements.

The final thing that happened during this time was that Naruto and the girls decided to try to spend some time away from each other, so that they would value their time together outside of missions. Naruto spent time with Kiba, Shino, Choji and Shikamaru, among others like a crazy lady named Anko. Both seemed to be kindred spirits, as both were despised for nothing that they had done and Anko was a friend of Kurenai. Naruto and Anko went on a near sadistic spree of pranks on those around the village that had wronged either of them. Naruto was of course blamed, but thanks to Anko, no one could prove that he had done it.

Hinata and Haku found others to spend time with including Anko, when she wasn't with Naruto, Ino, as neither could stand to be around Sakura, occasionally several of the branch members of the Hyuuga clan, and surprisingly Hiashi and Hanabi.

Kurenai also entered them into the chuunin exams, as Zabuza was nearing release from prison. She thought it would be good for the three of them to take the exams, as their skill level was that of chuunin, and Naruto had grown, at least some.

Training continued as normal for the team Naruto and Haku decided to take a little extra time and get some extra practice before the chuunin exams.

--------

Naruto and Haku continued to spar and failed to notice two people approach and hide in a tree fairly close by. Kakashi and Sasuke both watched with interest, as there had been no disciplinary actions taken towards Naruto for the 'assault' on them for the Wave mission.

Haku and Naruto were both sweating and panting as they moved to the next level for training. Haku moved through several one-handed seals, as Naruto scowled, swallowed hard and complained, "Awe shit! No fair Haku-chan!"

Sasuke and Kakashi looked at each other at the 'chan' statement. They both realized that Haku was actually a girl instead of a boy. What happened next surprised them both.

"Ninja art: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" Haku exclaimed, as water in the air froze and became a dome of mirrors surrounding Naruto. With a pleading look she asked, "Please Naruto-kun, I must maintain my edge."

Naruto visibly sighed and pulled out his sword. Haku disappeared into one of the mirrors and Naruto began to defend himself with his sword from multiple angles. Naruto occasionally got hit by a senbon, but for the most part he was able to deflect most of the senbon. Naruto smiled, as the attacks lulled for a moment. He sheathed his sword, pulled out the senbon, made a hand seal, and proclaimed, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Fifteen Naruto appeared and ran towards the walls, as the real one stayed in the center. All fifteen disappeared in clouds of smoke only to have twenty replace them. Naruto increased the numbers until there were forty attacking the sides, but none seemed to make it to the edge.

Kakashi whistled quietly, "Well over five hundred shadow clones, impressive."

Sasuke scowled, and asked, "What's so impressive? They're just clones, right?"

Kakashi shook his head, and replied, "No, they're 'Shadow' clones, those are real clones, not illusions. And before you ask, no, I will not teach you that jutsu, you haven't the chakra capacity to use it."

The two continued to watch for another half-hour, as Naruto continued to make groups of forty clones, only to have them destroyed by Haku.

Sasuke came up with a question, "How can she maintain those mirrors?"

Kakashi smiled under his mask, "She apparently has a bloodline, just like you, but while yours deals with the eyes, hers has to do with ice."

Sasuke gained a feral grin and jumped down from the tree, as the ice mirrors dissipated. His approach caught both Naruto and Haku's attention. Sasuke slipped a senbon out of his pouch along with a piece of paper, and rolled the paper onto the senbon. "Hey dobe, fight me!" he demanded.

Naruto was breathing heavily, but quickly replied, "No!"

Sasuke smirked, as his wrist twitched, unnoticed by either Naruto or Haku, he then said, "I'll report her to the council, and demand that they betroth her to me, so that I can rebuild the Uchiha clan."

Naruto began to laugh, hard. "You think you can come here and threaten fellow shinobi?" he asked. "You've really have lost it."

Haku's face darkened, as she said, "You have some nerve Uchiha. You threaten not one, but two shinobi. Does your ego know no bounds?" Haku looked at Naruto, and then collapsed to her knees. She felt very weak at the moment and couldn't move any of her muscles.

Sasuke smirked and looked at Naruto, he then said, "I challenge you to a single spar. You win I release her. I win, I get to keep her."

Naruto shook his head, and said, "No, her freedom isn't for you or me to decide. She is a friend, and I will protect her!" He yelled, as he moved in front of Haku.

Kakashi watched all that had occurred and wasn't sure how to handle it. Should he, scold his student or allow the fight to continue? He decided to do nothing, and see where it went.

Naruto took a weary taijutsu stance. Even though he was fatigued, he wanted to protect Haku. "You've proven me right," he yelled sarcastically.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and asked, "How's that?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed and turned from warm blue to an ice blue. "Because you've proven you really are a teme," he proclaimed.

Sasuke angered by the insult threw a punch at Naruto's face, only to have Naruto duck and land a jab to his ribs. Sasuke staggered back a few steps and then retook his stance. Naruto jabbed with his right only to have it caught by Sasuke's left. Naruto then noticed several things, Sasuke had a huge smirk, second, he had slapped his right hand on Naruto' bare right arm, third Sasuke's eyes were now red instead of black, he had the Sharingan.

Naruto felt his feet collapse out from underneath him, as Sasuke revealed a small paper seal on his arm that glowed green. "What did you do teme?" he asked weakly.

Sasuke smiled at Naruto, and said, "It's a paralysis seal. Neat little toy, don't you think?" he asked, not really expecting and answer. "I was given them a while back, by some silly woman who wanted something or other from me," he said, as he turned and looked Naruto directly in the eyes. "You leave for a few months after failing the exam, and you come back with this beautiful sword," he exclaimed as he drew Naruto's sword, and Naruto growled at him. He then continued, "Not to mention you came back with two girls."

Sasuke sighed, and continued, "What really gets me is that you're a lot stronger then when you left and worst of all you get to be a genin, even after you failed the exam and attacked me. How did you pull it off?" he asked, not really looking at Naruto.

Naruto was gritting his teeth. "Let us go, teme!" he ground out through his teeth.

Sasuke laughed, as he leaned down and spoke into Naruto's ear, "I'll take your sword, and your girl too. How do you feel about that?"

Naruto could only growl, as Sasuke stepped around Naruto, as if to use his leg as a brace. He then pressed the sword against Naruto's neck, and said, "You said that you've killed. Now I've done so also!" he proclaimed, as he pulled the sword across Naruto's throat.

Haku's eyes went wide, as she saw a spray of blood. Naruto fell over, as he looked sorrowfully at Haku. His eyes changed from sad for one instant to red, as the seal on his arm began to burn away.

In the distance a female voice screamed out a single name, "Naruto!"

Kakashi appeared next to Sasuke, and asked, "What have you done?"

Sasuke ignored Kakashi and looked at Haku with a predatory grin. He then said, "You're mine!" He walked forward, as he heard Kakashi deflecting thrown weapons, and grabbed Haku putting her on his shoulder, he then said, "Let's go!"

Sasuke froze, as waves of killing intent flowed over the area, and he dropped to his knees.

Kakashi spoke up in a sweet voice. "I think you had better leave her here. You're in enough trouble, as it is," he said, as he continued to block senbon being thrown by Hinata. 'He'd better leave her, or there won't be anything left of him, if he doesn't,' he thought, as he watched, red chakra flowed around Naruto.

Naruto gurgled out something unintelligible.

"Why can't I move? What is this feeling?" Sasuke asked no one in particular.

"Release Haku now, Uchiha! Or die!" Hinata proclaimed, as she advanced and continued to throw senbon.

Kakashi was not sure what to do, but he did have to protect his student otherwise he would die and the council would be very angry, even if it was his own fault. "Naruto and Hinata stand down, now, or there will be trouble!" Kakashi proclaimed.

Naruto shook his head, as blood had covered the front of his jumpsuit, the cut on his neck still evident, but the bleeding had slowed significantly. Naruto pointed to Haku and then his sword, he then pointed at the ground in front of him.

As Sasuke finally gotten used to the killing intent, he stood. A new voice rang out, "Stand down Naruto Uzumaki, and Hinata Hyuuga! That is an order!" An ANBU with a sparrow mask ordered.

Hinata looked at the man, as if he were insane, and asked, "What? You're going to protect a kidnapper and an attempted murderer?" The ANBU tilted his head and then looked at Sasuke who had someone draped over his shoulder. She then continued, "He attacked my fiancé with the intent to kill him, and now he's attempting to abduct my other teammate."

"Sasuke Uchiha, release the hostage!" Sparrow ordered.

Sasuke dumped Haku and then jumped away, taking Naruto's sword with him. Naruto attempted to intercept him, but was blocked by second ANBU who showed surprise in his eyes, as Naruto still bled from the wound on his throat. Naruto turned to look for Kakashi, but noticed he has also fled the scene.

Naruto fell to his knees and crawled over to Haku. He examined her and then pulled a senbon from her arm. He showed it to the ANBU, as he cradled Haku in his arms. The ANBU looked at the senbon and noticed the seal and shook his head.

Haku performed a couple hand seals, as her hands were covered in green chakra, and she applied them to his injured neck.

"Explain yourself Uzumaki!" A third ANBU demanded.

Naruto pointed to the still red mark on his throat, covered in blood.

Hinata slid next to Naruto and turned angrily to the ANBU, and yelled, "No you explain yourselves! Is Sasuke Uchiha so privileged, that he can try to murder a fellow genin, steal a family heirloom, and abduct a genin from another team?"

"We sensed his second chakra flare, so we came to investigate," the ANBU attempted to defend himself.

Haku glared at the ANBU, and said coldly, "If it weren't for the Kyuubi, Naruto-kun would be dead, and you'd be investigating a double murder, with an abduction that you'd have no idea had even occurred. I understand now why you don't trust them, Naruto-kun," Haku exclaimed, as she looked sorrowfully at Naruto.

All three ANBU flinched, as if punched. "Now, looking at him, we see that he was injured. We're sorry, but you must understand that we must worry about the Kyuubi getting released more than a simple assault," the man immediately regretted his calling this a 'simple assault'.

Naruto attempted to stand, but fell immediately. Hinata and Haku helped him up, and the three walked towards town.

"You idiot, Naruto-san, Haku-san, and Hinata-sama are all accusing Uchiha-san of attempted murder. Given the amount of blood I would tend to agree. You two investigate the area, you Bear, go talk to Kakashi, and I'll take them to the Hokage. Also follow up with Uchiha-san about a sword, I want it found, especially if it is the sword I think it is," a cat masked ANBU ordered, as she began to follow the three children.

---------

Kurenai had met the group as they approached the Hokage tower, she didn't ask anything, as she could tell Naruto was furious, so were Haku and Hinata to a lesser extent. What really concerned her was the surprising amount of blood on the front of Naruto's clothes, which appeared to have originated at his throat, which bore a red line. She also noticed the ANBU following closely keeping an eye out for trouble for her team. They entered the tower to find another ANBU with a bear mask standing at the door to the Hokage's office, he had Naruto's sword in hand, stained with blood.

The door opened and they found Kakashi in the office. All three genin glared at him, but he appeared to brush off the glares as if they were nothing. The Hokage stood and moved quickly to Naruto, and asked, "Naruto-kun are you okay?"

Hinata glared at the Hokage, as she yelled, "No he isn't! We wish to file assault, theft, attempted murder, and attempted kidnapping charges against Sasuke Uchiha!"

The Hokage glared at Kakashi, who this time had the decency to actually flinch. He motioned for the three to sit, as he took his chair, and asked, "Please tell me what happened." Sarutobi noticed the blood covering Naruto's front, but hid his concern, as he didn't want to upset the boy any further.

Naruto lifted his head and pointed to his throat and made a slashing motion, he then held out his hand to the bear ANBU who handed him his sword, as he then cleaned and sheathed it. He then lay back with a big gurgling sigh.

Hinata kissed Naruto on the cheek and then turned to the Hokage and said, "Sasuke Uchiha is a menace and should be put down, like the rabid dog he is."

"He's not that bad, he just has some anger issues. See, Naruto is okay now," Kakashi said, as he defended Sasuke.

Naruto growled at Kakashi, as Haku placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Hatake-san, how long were you and Uchiha-teme in the tree?" she asked angrily.

"An hour or so, all though I must say that you have an interesting bloodline," Kakashi complimented, as Naruto again growled.

"So both you and Sasuke know that I have a bloodline and am female?" she asked, as both ANBU gasped in shock.

Kakashi nodded, and said, "We watched both of you, it was impressive training, Naruto with his shadow clones, I lost count after about fifteen hundred, and you, with your ice mirrors. I was very impressed."

"So, you allowed your student to pick a fight with my teammate, after we had exhausted ourselves. He hit me with a senbon that had a paralysis seal on it, not allowing me to effectively defend my teammate. He also used a second seal to do the same to Naruto-kun. Why did you not stop it then and there?" Haku asked.

"Well, I was shocked that he was able to stop Naruto so easily after the last encounter," Kakashi admitted.

"And when he placed Naruto-kun's sword at his throat, why not then? How about when he pulled it across his throat? Did you administer aid to a fallen comrade?" Haku asked accusatorily.

"No, I was defending my student from an attack by your other teammate, she would have killed him," Kakashi shot back.

"Pity, you would have Naruto-kun die in his stead, when he didn't start the fight?" Haku asked.

"It really wasn't a fight," Kakashi countered.

Haku sighed, and said, "No, it was a premeditated, attempted murder, abduction and after that, more than likely rape."

"Well…" Kakashi was about to say, but was cut off.

"If Sasuke Uchiha comes near me again, I will kill him, damn the consequences. You were going to defend his actions, were you not?" Haku asked, as her anger rose yet again.

Kurenai had heard enough, and said, "Kakashi, you should be ashamed of yourself. If Sasuke is guilty of even half of this he should be put on trial. He attacked two of my students, with harmful intent I might add."

Kakashi sighed, he was fighting a losing battle with his student's actions, how could save this from becoming a debacle? "Look, I'll keep Sasuke away from your team, if that makes you happy," he said, as a possible compromise.

Naruto continued to fume in the back of the office, only to grab a scroll from his pocket and made sure that Sarutobi saw it. Sarutobi now knew Naruto was actually mad enough to destroy the foundation of Konoha on this incident. "Kakashi, you and your student are here by reprimanded. Attacks on fellow shinobi are especially frowned upon. Sasuke will have to go through a physiological evaluation before he will be called fit for duty again. Now get out of my sight and inform your student that if he comes near Kurenai's team again he will be stripped of his status as a shinobi and left to the mercy of his fan girls. Do I make myself clear?" he asked forcefully, as Kakashi blanched and nodded. He left quickly with no further comment.

Hinata looked angrily at Sarutobi and said, "Hokage-san, while we are appreciative of what you did for our living conditions, you still have a long ways to go in earning our trust. We will honor our vow to this village if it doesn't attack us."

Haku sighed, as she again checked Naruto's throat, and said, "Even with the fox, he won't be able to talk for another day or so. That teme did a number on his larynx. If I were better trained in healing, I could make the healing go quicker," she admitted. She then turned to Sarutobi and said, "You in this village worship bloodlines, but also seem blinded by your own prejudice. Naruto-kun is the jailer, not the inmate, so why do your people act like he's the inmate? If he were your village wouldn't exist right now."

Sarutobi sighed, nodded and said, "Old ways die hard with old people. I know Naruto is Naruto." He reached into his desk and fished out several scrolls and handed them to Hinata, and said, "These are for your husband-to-be, I hope they please him. I have others, but they are not set to be given until he turns sixteen and he is ready to marry, I'm sorry."

Hinata scowled, as she took the scrolls and put them into her weapons pouch. The team left the office right after receiving the scrolls. Kurenai asked what had happened. Haku explained what happened and thus began a flare in Kurenai's anger. Naruto smirked, as he walked over to a shop and purchased a bottle of pink hair dye. Hinata smirked at the same time, as if they both knew what he was going to do with the dye.

"I would hate to be teme right now…" Haku said happily.

Kurenai looked at her, as if she had some idea of what Naruto was going to do. "I would advise against aggravating Sasuke right now," she said, as she was almost certain that they were referring to him as the target.

Naruto grinned even wider, as Kurenai's fear became even greater.

Naruto and Hinata disappeared for a half an hour, as Kurenai and Haku went to lunch to discuss further training.

--------

Two shadows moved through the Uchiha compound quietly and quickly. No one was there to see them enter Sasuke's home or even, as the two entered the bathroom, and then soon after left, as quickly as they had entered.

-------

Naruto was relaxing on the bed in just shorts, as he had just finished a shower and decided to relax and read the scrolls. The scrolls seemed to cover some jutsu, but most seemed to be personal correspondence between his parents. It also seemed to cover some tests that were run, and that Tsunade Senju would have to be consulted on. Naruto began to see a pattern, this Tsunade woman's name kept on coming up and to that end he decided that he needed to contact her somehow and find out what she knew. An idea formed in his mind. A few hours later he was joined in bed by Hinata and Haku, as they prepared to rest for bed and the next day.

Hinata and Haku missed Naruto not having his voice, as it was too quiet that evening. They understood that he needed time to heal and also some time to figure out what they needed to do next.

-------

The three followed their regular schedule, which was, wake up, take a group shower, get dressed, and then eat breakfast. Morning training was somewhat quiet, but also Naruto's voice was somewhat off, having almost fully healed.

Right at the end of morning training the group was greeted by two groups. One was team seven, and the second was an ANBU team. Team seven caused Kurenai's and the ANBU team to break out in laughter. Sasuke's hair was now a dark shade of pink, as he now stood out almost, as badly as his teammate with her normal pink hair.

Sasuke appeared very angry. "I hate you dobe, I'm going to get you charged with breaking and entering," he exclaimed.

Naruto brought his laughter under control. "So teme, is that before or after you've 'red' me the riot act?" he asked jokingly in a broken voice.

The others continued to laugh, as Sasuke seethed with anger, he moved forward to attack Naruto only to be intercepted by both Kakashi and one of the ANBU. "Uchiha-san, no matter what your grievance is with Uzumaki-san, it is immaterial, as he has and his team, have been summoned to the village council," he said with authority. He turned to Naruto's team and continued, "You will accompany us to the council chambers."

Naruto and his team left a fuming Uchiha and Haruno. "You know Sasuke, Naruto could have done much worse to you. He could have put hair remover in your shampoo," Kakashi said, as he pointed out what Naruto could have done. This sent a chill down the Uchiha's back.

-------

Sarutobi was livid, as he had done some work while Naruto was away, in an attempt to try to fix things for him, but the civilian council attempted to block him at every turn. Danzo wanted Naruto, and Haku handed to him to be trained, as weapons and used to be used as breeding stock for the next generation of 'super soldiers', with his tenant and her Kekkei Genkai, they would be the perfect mix for a new super clan, but without Naruto being at the head of it.

Sarutobi was sickened by this opinion. The son of the former Hokage thought of only as breeding stock instead of a child and capable shinobi. Others in the council had pushed for Haku to immediately be married to the Uchiha boy or to several boys and then forced to have children. How these two items had gotten out were anybody's guess. The facts that Haku was both female and had a bloodline were not common knowledge, but living in a village of ninja did show that they had ways of getting information.

Luckily only he knew that the girls were staying with Naruto and that he was engaged to both of them. The second item of interest was dealing with Zabuza. His interrogation had gone well and it appeared that he hadn't resisted during the 'talk' with Ibiki and Anko. Items of note were that Zabuza was immensely loyal to Naruto, Haku, and Hinata, as if they were his children, this both pleased and disturbed Sarutobi. He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock at the council chamber doors, as they opened.

Naruto and his team were escorted into a large meeting room with several clan head, village merchants, retired shinobi and finally the Hokage. "Come in and take a seat," Sarutobi offered, as he pointed to four chairs situated at the opening of the 'U' shaped council table.

Naruto noticed and recognized several of the people seated on the council, first was Hiashi, second was Chouza, father to one of Naruto's friends, Choji. He also recognized a few of the merchants, one who with pink hair who had refused to allow him into their store.

Naruto sat in between Haku and Hinata, as she sat with Kurenai on her left.

Sarutobi cleared his throat, and said, "Let's get this meeting started. What is the first order of business?"

A pink haired merchant scowled at the gather genin team and then spoke, "It has come to the council's attention that you've gotten access to the Uzumaki accounts, is that true de… Naruto?"

Naruto sighed and said with a raspy voice, "As the head of the Uzumaki clan, and only remaining survivor, I'm entitled to those funds. And if you refer to me as demon again I will make sure you're life is, as fun as mine has been," Naruto threatened.

The woman gasped at his statement. "How dare you threaten me, child!" she yelled in rebuttal.

Naruto smirked, and said, "I'm not threatening. You've been a nuisance to me and refused service to the one who protects this village from the wrath of a demon."

"Prove that you're not one!" She challenged.

Naruto's whole team smirked, as he replied, "Simply put, if I were a demon, I would have destroyed this village several times over, after how I've been treated."

Hiashi began to laugh out loud at Naruto's statement. This disturbed most, but several were also chuckling at the antics of the blonde genin.

"Enough, we're here to find out why you're accessing the Uzumaki clan accounts. You're just named after that clan, as a sign of respect," the woman said.

Naruto shook his head, and said, "No, I'm the son of Kushina Uzumaki, former head of the Uzumaki clan. As her son, and heir, with her passing, I am now the head of said clan. As for showing respect, what have you done for the last twelve plus years to show respect to my clan? You've made sure that I can't even go into regular stores. Your stores are off limits and your managers assault me if I even try to enter. So, don't go and insult me by saying you've honored my clan. How would you like it if I were to retire and go to say Iwa?" he asked, as most of those gather blanched.

Sarutobi spoke up at this point, "Are you saying that you've never bought anything from Haruno-san's store?"

Naruto nodded, and replied, "I've never been able to enter her store. Either she or her clerks chase me out with all sorts of weapons."

Sarutobi frowned at this answer. "Haruno-san, your store charges his family's account for regular clothing expenses, and he has just admitted to never having entered your store. Can you help me to figure out why you're stealing from the boy?"

The Haruno council member went from pale to ghost white, as she stammered out, "But, Hokage-sama he stole from our store and we're just getting back the money for the stolen merchandise."

Naruto laughed, as he pointed to the woman, and said, "You've stolen from me, and now that you've been caught, you want to try to say that I'm the thief. I accuse you of being a thief!"

"We all know that foxes are masters of trickery!" She yelled out, in an attempt to defend herself.

"Excuse me council-woman Haruno, but did you see Naruto-kun's apartment before we left the village? Do you know what his wardrobe was before he went to the bank, which I might add had moneys for him. Also this very council had told the bank to not let him even enter. Is this how you honor the Fourth's sacrifice?" Hinata asked.

"He's a monster! I for one am glad that he's no longer chasing my daughter!" Sakura's mother stated.

"Monster? No, jinchuuriki, yes, and also sole heir to the Uzumaki clan. My clan sacrificed much to help your village, and this is how do you repay them? You kill my mother and aunt. You steal from me and my clan! You accuse me of things I never did! Now, what do you and the rest of this foolish council want?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Such insolence! How dare…" Danzo started to say, but was interrupted.

"He dares, because he is right!" Hinata proclaimed.

"Shut your mouth, branch wench!" Danzo yelled back at her.

Naruto was about to stand only to see Hiashi stand and look directly at Danzo, with his Byakugan activated. "You will show respect to my daughter and future son-in-law!" he rebutted.

"So the Hyuuga are in league with this demon!" The Haruno woman yelled.

"If he were an all powerful demon, I would rather be on his side. If on the other hand he is, as I suspect, a jinchuuriki, then we as a village have done an unspeakable sin for harming an innocent boy," Hiashi said in a low tone, as most of the shinobi clan heads nodded agreement. He then looked directly at Danzo, and said, "If you ever speak to my daughter that way again I will kill you myself, If Naruto-san doesn't do it first."

Hinata took this moment to speak, "How many of you have ever been around Naruto-kun for any length of time? How many of you have even tried to walk around the village as Naruto-kun? And as for you Baika Haruno, mother to the banshee that abused my Naruto-kun, you only have my deepest enmity."

Baika was stunned as the killing intent rolled of the young Hyuuga girl. "How did my daughter abuse this thing? And why are disrespecting my daughter?" she asked.

Hinata frowned at the woman. "I know of eighty-one separate occasions where your daughter assaulted Naruto-kun, for such a little thing as asking for a date. Is that how the Haruno act? I have not seen others act so. Usually a kind rebuke or maybe a strong word or two if they become insistent, is usually all that is needed. Your daughter on the other hand three more time did and with no regard for Naruto-kun's feeling denigrated and degraded him for the same reason I mentioned before. And as for the other merchants, you have stolen from Naruto-kun with no regard for whom you steal from, in the hopes of getting even with the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi is contained! Yet you attack and abuse Naruto-kun for nothing he has done. Have you ever asked 'why did the Yondaime choose him'? Also, do you remember his wish for Naruto-kun?" she asked pointedly, as Hiashi smiled proudly at his daughter.

Naruto decided to speak up at this point, and said, "So the great Konohagakure no Sato, the best of the shinobi villages, the most honorable of them, that is a total sham!" Members of the council began to protest, but Naruto cut them off, and said, "You say you honor the Fourth, yet you disregard his last, dying wish. The wish that I be seen as a hero for the burden I carry. What would happen to your village's precious reputation, if it were known that you treat children in such a fashion? Or better yet that you actively went about destroying a hopeful academy student's learning? How about if the other countries learn how you treated a jinchuuriki? Most of the big countries have them, and I'm sure they are treated for the most part better than I've been treated. I'm sure that Iwagakure no Sato would love to have me, a trained, no thanks to you, jinchuuriki. The irony of having me working for them, the jinchuuriki that their greatest enemy created, and that their enemy village shunned."

Naruto then looked directly at Choza, and said, "While I enjoy my time with your son, I haven't forgotten that you also called for my death during 'that' incident. I'm sure that your son would be very disappointed with you if the facts in that case came to light."

Choza lowered his head in shame, and replied, "I'm deeply sorry for my words said in the heat of the moment, Naruto-san."

Naruto nodded, as he wanted to know what else the council had up its sleeves.

Sarutobi coughed to get the attention of everyone in the chamber, and then said, "We are deeply sorry for your treatment Naruto-kun, and ask for your forgiveness. There are also other matters that this council wants to deal with, that affect you and your team, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded and sat back down, but continued to glare at the elders and civilian member of the council.

Homura cleared his throat, and said, "Yes Sarutobi, there is another matter to be addressed. The matter of Haku Momochi, the council has before it a vote on a betrothal measure to a one Sasuke Uchiha."

Haku stood up and glared at the man, who nearly jumped out of his skin, as killing intent washed over him from the girl, and Naruto, it also didn't help when the temperature of the room fell several degrees in the matter of seconds. "What would I want being betrothed to that monster?" Haku asked.

Koharu looked at her, and replied, "You're a female, am I correct?" Haku nodded to her question, she then continued her questions. "Sasuke-san is the most eligible bachelor of your age group and would make a good pair," she said.

Haku shook her head, and said, "Only if you agree with kidnapping and possible rape, would he make a good mate for me. Yesterday he attacked both my teammate and myself, as he attempted to murder said teammate and then abduct me."

Baika stood, and began to protest, "Uchiha-san would never do such a thing! He's an honorable shinobi!"

Haku glared at the council member, and said, "Yes honorable enough to spy on a private spar, disable myself and my teammate with paralysis seals. And do you know what he did then? He stole a family heirloom, and then he attempted to slit the throat of my teammate. He even waited until we were tired from a long spar to attack, I thought that we would be safe within the confines of the walls of Konoha, but we were sadly mistaken. When ANBU arrived they were about to let your 'HONORABLE' Uchiha go free, with me held on his shoulder, ready to take me to Kami knows where. So I refuse any type of union with that monster!"

Baika sat down, but appeared to brush aside Haku's arguments. "You're sitting next to the true monster…" she said to no one in particular.

Ice formed into aH hhhhh

kunai in Haku's hand, as she glared at Baika. "You would insult Naruto-kun? I should just kill you now and relieve the world of your ignorance," she said, with as much venom as she could muster.

Homura decided it was time to get this finished, and said, "It is still needed, that we have an affirmation that you will be married around your sixteenth birthday, young lady."

Haku turned to the man, glared and said, "I'm already spoken for. Now end this non-sense!"

Homura nodded at the statement. "Next item on the agenda is to decide how much of the Uzumaki clan fortune is to be distributed to Naruto-san," he said in a level tone.

Naruto looked at the man and growled. "As the head of the clan it is all mine until we have more members, and then I shall divvy it out as needed," he replied.

Koharu shook her head, and said, "No little one, the monies are needed by the village, and as such should be given freely to the village. The village needs the money, while you do not."

"Like hell I would give up the money from my family to this village that keeps on proving that the Fourth's sacrifice was in vain," Naruto yelled in reply.

Several gasps came from the assembled council, also several chuckles.

"I call for a vote to take ninety percent of the Uzumaki monies and transfer them to the village," Baika said with a smile on her face.

"Anyone who seconds will cause my clan to pull all our monies out of the bank," Tsume said angrily.

"Along with my clan's," Hiashi said also, as the rest of the shinobi clans fell in line behind the Inuzuka and Hyuuga clan heads.

Naruto couldn't help, but feel tears come to his eyes at the show of support from the shinobi clans. Naruto finally spoke up, and said, "If this council in its 'infinite' wisdom decides to take the money from my clan's accounts, I will immediately take all funds and turn it into a mission against said member. I will make your lives a living hell." Naruto's eyes turned from blue to purple, as killing intent flowed off of him.

The final vote was a tie, but Sarutobi had the final vote in the case of a tie, he voted to leave the Uzumaki clan's money in Naruto's hands, and have the village borrow the money if needed, but pay him back quickly if they did borrow them, and with interest for the time they were borrowed. Naruto didn't like it, but this way he held the purse strings of the council thus giving him some semblance of control in village politics, not that he actually wanted that.

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A/N: Hope you liked the chapter and hated a couple of the characters…

Dragon Noir: You will learn more about the seals in the following chapters. I gave you a hint of what they are, but my not have been totally truthful as Naruto is still isn't a seal master.

Get: What are you saying? You've got a problem with spelling and grammar, and doing this posting anonymously. Oh and for your idea of making 'sense', all stories are AU after the first word. Enough said to a heckler…

Neosucious: No worries about Naruto becoming super strong or smart right off the bat. The seals will more explained over time and their elimination will help Naruto, but not make him into some super powered ninja, he will have to work for that.

The Wandering Soul of 1014: All in good time. Each seal has its purpose, and Naruto might not even be right about his knowledge of what they are and what they do.

A reviewer: Naruto has a lot on his mind, while he is mad at the Third, he is more disappointed in him not doing the right thing. Their relationship should improve, but the trust has been lost and will need to be rebuilt. Also Naruto has lost his mask for the most part, as Zabuza broke him of the habit in non-fighting situations.

P5yCH0: They got really lucky with their skills and the availability with water, as all are water jutsu users. Yes if Kurenai went all out she could have won, but what would be the point if she either killed or had to take her team to the hospital, just for a trial, and she wouldn't have come out of it without a scratch.

Lord Martiya: Sai is a funny character and would help mesh Team 7, as he has no emotions, paired with an emotional wreck, Sasuke. Also he would help to focus Sakura into being a kunoichi, at least you could hope. In my personal opinion Sakura was a lost cause form the start, she got better, but only became tolerable at that point. Sasuke, I understand got hit with a double whammy of Itachi and the Curse seal from Orochimaru, but no one especially Kakashi seemed to want to have his mental health checked out. The fight on the roof was the last straw and Kakashi just let it go. Jiraiya and Naruto spoke volumes just by looking at each other. Both knew that he had screwed up, but also Naruto was harder on himself for it. Also it showed the first time that Naruto put the pink banshee in her place. As for Kakashi being in place to eliminate the threat of Naruto, I would agree. But there would be true irony there if he did, as for Kakashi killing the son of his sensei. I would also agree with Hinata being on the same team as Sasuke, for fear that he might try something with the heiress. The funny thing is that Sasuke is thought to be unstable from the massacre on, but Naruto did have some calming influence. Now with the latest manga, Kakashi shows that he knows Naruto is Minato's son, when he knew is the real question.


	8. Chapter 8 Of Seals and Pranks

Disclaimer: Own, sure I own nothing, other than what I consider valuable, and unfortunately Naruto isn't one of them… Oh well… On to the next chapter

Chapter 8 – Of seals and pranks…

Four days before the chuunin exams…-

Naruto's team went to Ichiraku to help him and Haku blow off some steam and meet up with Konohamaru and his friends. Naruto smiled at Konohamaru, as the child approached.

"Hey Naruto-niisan! What are you doing?" Konohamaru asked, as everyone took a stool at the ramen stand.

"Lunch," Naruto answered in an annoyed voice.

"Did grandpa screw up again?" Konohamaru asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Nope, he actually did the right thing, sort of. The council is what is pissing me off, even more so than teme," Naruto admitted.

Konohamaru chuckled at Naruto's anger at Sasuke, as Hinata had explained it earlier in the week, to help him understand why Naruto couldn't talk well. Konohamaru idolized Naruto for being able to disable both his grandfather and his jounin sensei. While Hinata and Haku frowned upon using the jutsu other than against perverts, they did eventually allow Naruto teach it to Konohamaru, much to Ebisu's detriment. Hinata and Haku had worn bathing suits to help him with getting the jutsu correct. Naruto of course didn't show the private parts of his female form, as it apparently had more of an impact without those parts showing. Also none of the three were willing to show an eight year old a fully naked form of a female, his age or older.

"So are they asking you to get married?" Konohamaru asked, as he was more teasing than meaning it.

He noticed the dark look appear on Haku's face. "No, they want me to marry him," she said angrily.

Konohamaru and his friends looked confused for a moment until Konohamaru got some insight. "Wait, why would they want to marry a guy…" he asked, only to get a clue into the situation. He then whispered, "They know you're a girl, don't they?"

Haku nodded, but then smiled in a way that struck fear into the children. "While they know, and he knows, if you tell anyone, even being the grandson of the Hokage will not be an adequate defense," she threatened.

Konohamaru and his friends nodded their recognition, as Ayame broke the ice, and said, "Your secret is safe here with us, Haku Uzumaki." Haku looked dead on at Ayame, who just smiled kindly back at the girl. "You're family, we knew, and are happy he will have two people to look after him when we can't," she admitted, as she came around the counter and hugged Haku. She then whispered into her ear, "He is special, treat him right, and don't stop loving him when he doesn't know what to do."

Haku returned the hug and whispered, "We are going to take good care of Naruto-kun, as we both love him dearly. We are well aware of most of his shortcomings. I'm glad there were people like you to help him when he was younger, he thinks of you like an older sister. That being said, we have a lot to do to get him to where he should be."

Ayame nodded and kissed Haku on the cheek. "Take good care of my little otouto (younger brother). He needs all the love he can get," she said loud enough for everyone in the stand to hear. She then let Haku go, kissed Naruto on the forehead and returned to behind the counter with a smile. "Remember send that Iruka-kun by here sometime, Naruto-kun," she said in a singing voice.

Naruto chuckled at this. "Yes, oneesan (older sister), I'll see what I can do," he replied with a grin.

"So, are you guys going to be in the upcoming chuunin exams, niisan?" Moegi asked.

Naruto, Hinata and Haku looked at Kurenai who frowned at the academy students and then smiled at her students. "I was planning to enter the three of you into the exams, as I believe you're all ready, or nearly ready to enter. You have the skills, but need to show your leadership skills. The jounin sensei, haven't been asked just yet, but, yes, I'm going to enter your names into the exams, and maybe you guys will succeed," she admitted. Then she looked directly into Naruto's eyes, and said, "You're going to need to be even better than most to get that type of promotion, as we all know the deck is stacked against you. Haku might just get it because of her bloodline, like I have a feeling that Sasuke might."

She raised her hand to forestall any objections, and continued, "The reason he more than likely will be promoted is because it will show the village is committed to making the Sharingan return. While I think this is a bad reason, I don't have much say in it. If you make it to the last round, there will be representatives that will grade you. I hear that he Kazekage will be here for it. I almost think that I've given you too much information. The good news is that Zabuza will be released during the exams and should be able to help you guys in your training," she said happily.

"I'm glad otousan (father), wasn't sent back to Kirigakure," Haku admitted.

Naruto put an arm around her shoulder, squeezed gently and quietly said, "We all miss him, Haku-chan."

Kurenai smiled at this display of affection that she was afraid that Naruto would never be able to give, but he did and she was proud. "Naruto, do you have any jutsu that aren't water based?" she asked.

Naruto nodded his head, and replied, "I know only a couple wind jutsu, the same ones Haku knows. Hm… let's see, we know 'Air bullet', and 'Wind shield', both are easy techniques, one is for defense while the other is for offense. I know there are stronger wind jutsu, but we don't have much access to wind techniques here in Konoha. If we could go to Suna we might have some more to choose from. My list of water jutsu is fairly good, as I have about eight or so," he admitted.

Kurenai smiled, nodded and said, "That should do you both for the exams, as I know that Sasuke can use fire jutsu, so I would carry water with you so that you can use it if the air is too dry. Also knowing elemental manipulation is what most jounin can do. A usual requirement is being able to do two elemental type manipulations, along with having the skill to be a jounin."

Naruto perked up and looked at Kurenai. "So any news on Jiraiya or Tsunade?" he asked.

Kurenai nodded, and then said, "Well Jiraiya-sama should be here soon, but we haven't heard anything from Tsunade-sama yet, as the messenger shinobi may not have found her just yet. So the seals are worrying you?"

Naruto nodded, as he replied, "There may be even more than we found, and if so I might not be able to have them removed before the exams. The ones that worry me most are the ones on my head and neck. They more than likely were put there to hinder my learning even more than the teachers at the academy. The one on my neck limits the chakra to my head, and thus my brain."

Konohamaru looked up worriedly at Naruto, and asked, "Why would anyone, put a seal on you niisan?"

Naruto scratched his head, and said, "Well, I can't tell you everything, but a lot of people don't like me and would do anything to make my life very annoying, if not hard." Naruto suddenly brightened up, and a devious grin crossed his face. He then scared his jounin sensei, by saying, "We need to find Anko-chan, paint, and some sealing scrolls. Want to help make me happier Kon?"

Konohamaru and his friends nodded enthusiastically. Kurenai knew she was either going to get a headache or laugh until she was blue in the face at whatever he was planning. Naruto, Hinata, Haku, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon left the stand quickly after finishing their ramen.

"So who do you figure they are going to prank this time?" Ayame asked no one in particular.

"I just hope it isn't me," Kurenai replied with a chuckle, as she knew if Anko was involved it would be very devious, if not hurt someone. She knew that Naruto would make sure that no one was killed, but she had a feeling that this time Naruto was headed off to war.

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Sarutobi sat at his chair with a messenger ninja standing in front of him holding a document. "Tsunade Senju, a member of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, named so by Hanzou of Ame, would like Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage of Konohagature, to know that she will be returning to Konoha within the next week or so. There is more in the letter, but she wanted me to tell you this, before I gave you the letter," the messenger said, as he bowed and handed him the envelope.

Sarutobi accepted the letter with a nod, and said, "Thank you for your service, you're dismissed."

The messenger left the office, as Sarutobi opened the letter. He began to read the letter only to become pale and have his pipe fall from his mouth.

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Kakashi waited outside of the building for Sasuke to leave so that he could give the report directly to the Hokage. Sasuke left with a smile on his face, as he thanked the man for allowing him to visit. Tonbo Yamanaka looked at Kakashi and waved, he then said, "Mr. Uchiha is fine, I found no problems with his psyche, I give him a clean bill of health. Here are the files that the Hokage wanted me to fill out." Tonbo handed Kakashi a file folder and then reentered the clinic.

Kakashi turned to Sasuke with a furrowed brow, and said, "You do understand that you will need to avoid Naruto and his team for a while, right?"

Sasuke's smile turned to a scowl, as he said, "Yes, I know that. Even if I wanted to get even with him, now is not the time. I can wait, and the council will help me."

Kakashi sighed at his lack of remorse. "You do know that if you use the council it might end up worse for you. Also don't harbor any thoughts of getting close to that Haku girl, I think she might not like you very much after the other day."

"Like I care, she will be my wife and bring a new breed of Uchiha into this village," Sasuke said without any feeling.

Kakashi sighed yet again at his student's lack of understanding. "Well, I'm off to get you back on the active roster," he said, as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

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Naruto, sitting at his desk, continued to go back over the notes he had. He suddenly screamed out in frustration, "Why can't I get this? From the notes we have from father, the forbidden scroll and my own observations, what is wrong with me?"

Hinata stood next to Naruto with a worried look on her face, but then she noticed a small glow on Naruto's head. She moved the hair to notice that the seal on his head was pulsing. "Naruto-kun, relax for a minute then try again," she said gently.

Naruto took a deep breath, and smiled at Hinata, and said, "Okay, Hinata-chan, for you, anything."

Hinata watched the seal stop pulsing and then fade, as Naruto became more relaxed. She watched, as Naruto began to study his notes again. The seal became evident, as his concentration became deeper, the seal began to glow.

"Naruto-kun, the seal on your head is glowing. Is there any seals that are meant to break a person's concentration?" Hinata asked.

Naruto turned and opened a couple scrolls, but couldn't find anything that described what she was asking for. "No, not with what I know so far. There may be something out there that does, but I don't know about it and it isn't in the books."

Both turned, as they heard the window open and a rather large man with white hair, red vest and a headband with 'oil' on it, sat on the window sill. "That might be the seal that was used by the Uchiha military police to keep prisoners from contemplating escape. It breaks concentration by using the person's own chakra against them. So you must be Naruto, and his lovely bride-to-be Hinata," the man said with a happy grin. "So, where are your mother and that fox of a woman, Hana?"

Naruto frowned, as he looked at the man. "Thank you for the information, but who, the hell are you?" he asked angrily.

The man frowned, but cheered up quickly. "Is that any way to talk to your godfather, Jiraiya? The toad sage of Mount Myouboku, and one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha."

Naruto wore an angry look, and then said, "Their both dead, and have been for years. If you're my godfather, where were you when they died? Why didn't you come and look after me?"

Jiraiya was taken aback by the hostility of the boy, first he is told that Kushina and Hana are both dead, and then is raked over the coals for not coming sooner to a situation that he had no knowledge over. Jiraiya sighed, and said, "Look Naruto, I'm sorry that I didn't come sooner. Had I known that Hana had passed away, I would have come sooner." He held up his hand to forestall any complaints, and continued, "I knew that Kushina was going to die, but I didn't know that Hana had passed on too. I will do all I can to help you now. That is all I can offer. Is that enough?"

Naruto pondered for a moment and then nodded. "If you can get rid of these seals, other than the Kyuubi one, I would really appreciate it," he said with a guarded grin.

Jiraiya nodded, as Haku came into the room in a form fitting kimono. Jiraiya's eyes went wide, as he asked, "You have two girls?"

Naruto nodded, and smirked, as Haku wrapped a loving arm around his neck. "I picked her up in Wave country, and she hasn't left my side since," he admitted with a warm smile. "Haku-chan, this is my godfather Jiraiya of the Sannin."

Haku leaned down and kissed Naruto on the cheek, and said, "I'll add food for one more for dinner," as she left the room. "Do I need to fix up the extra bedroom for our guest, Naruto-kun?"

Jiraiya chuckled, as he watched Hinata smile at the interaction between Haku and Naruto. 'Guess they have worked it out. Might make for a good storyline for one of my books,' he thought to himself. He then shook his head and said, "I have a place to stay, but thank you. So we will start our work on figuring out how to remove your seals tonight. What is that you're working on?"

Naruto pulled the scroll he was working on and handed it to Jiraiya, and said, "I'm working on either modifying or removing the 'Caged Bird' seal of the Hyuuga. They put the seal on Hinata-chan here, against their signed promise, I might add."

Jiraiya noticed the anger in his voice, but nodded, and said, "You know, we can work on that together after the chuunin exams." He then clapped his hands and then rubbed them together. "Let's get to work on your seals. Let me see your notes and we will discuss this over dinner."

Naruto nodded, as he grabbed the scrolls he had on the seals and his notes, and they headed to the kitchen to eat dinner. The next hour was in discussion on the individual seal, what they did, and how to remove them.

Jiraiya thanked the trio for the dinner and left for the evening promising to return in the morning to start work on removing the seals on Naruto. 'I have a visit I have to make first,' he thought angrily, as he use 'body flicker' to disappear in a swirl of leaves.

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The next morning found Naruto waking the two girls, as there a knock on the door, more like a pounding. "Naruto, open this door!" the voice of Sakura was coming from the front door.

Naruto sighed, as he left the comfort of a warm bed, and both girls sighed at his departure, vowing to get even with said girl. Naruto walked to the door, unlocked it and ducked a punch. "What do you want Sakura," he asked politely.

"Naruto!" she screamed. "How dare you come to the door in only your underpants?"

Naruto growled at her, and replied, "I dare, because this is MY home, and you were so nice enough to DEMAND that I open the door. So what is it that you want?"

"My mother is pissed at you and demands you clean up your mess you made on our doorstep," she demanded.

"Is that all your thieving mother wants? She can hire my team to clean things for her, all she needs to do is inform the Hokage, and ask for a D-ranked mission for my team," he explained.

"No, you made the mess and you'll clean it up!" she yelled.

Hinata came to the door clad in a silk night kimono, opened, bra and panties showing, all in floral prints. "Sakura-san, you come here on my teams day off and demand we clean up some mess at five in the morning?" she asked in a sleepy tone.

Sakura gasped as she looked at Hinata's attire, and then said, "So you're now his hussy?"

Hinata glared at Sakura, and replied, "No, Naruto-kun is to be my husband, and after the Hyuuga disowned me, I came here."

"So you're sleeping with him?" Sakura demanded.

Hinata raised an eyebrow, and said, "What I do with my future husband isn't any of your concern, and if I hear that you're spreading rumors of Naruto-kun and I having premarital sex, I WILL make you eat your words."

Sakura backed up as she felt a wave of killing intent wash off from Hinata. "Well… well… your husband-to-be vandalized my house and my mother wants him to clean it up," Sakura shuddered out her demand.

Naruto took his turn, and looked Sakura in the eye. "Your mother stole from me and tried to call me a thief. Now if she wants to publicly retract her statement, then I might look into seeing who vandalized your house and then maybe help you clean it up. Also keep your boyfriend inline, seeing as he attacked me and my teammate, and tell Sasuke-chan that I'm sending him the cleaning bill for my clothes," Naruto explained.

"Fine, I tell Sasuke-kun," she replied with a derogatory tone. She then turned and said only loud enough for the couple to hear, "I'll bet Sasuke-kun is even better in bed than the baka."

Hinata laughed at this comment, and said loudly, "I'll bet Sasuke-teme wouldn't know what to do with a girl if one threw herself at him, other than run."

Sakura turned and threw a punch at Hinata only to find out three things. One, Hinata was more flexible than any girl she knew, and second she was had a larger chest than Sakura, and finally juuken strikes hurt a lot. Sakura's arm fell limp to her side, as she began to retreat. "You bitch! You haven't heard the last of this! I'm going to tell everyone what is going on around here, and you can count on it," she yelled, as she ran down the front stairs.

Naruto shrugged, as he closed the door and kissed Hinata. "Sorry for the interruption, I still wanted to sleep," he explained.

Hinata giggled at Naruto, and asked, "What color did we paint their house again?"

Naruto brought his hand up to his chin and thought for a minute. "I think we gave them a pink makeover, and the other teme council members got a variety of nice colors for their votes against me and Haku-chan," he explained.

Naruto felt a set of arms wrap around his torso, and a gentle kiss on the cheek. "So was that the pink banshee?" Haku asked, as Naruto nodded. "Do you think the black flag with a skull with crossed kunai was a little much?"

Naruto shook his head, as they all laughed, knowing that all around the village houses of the Konoha council were being bombed with paint, along with an image of a pirate flag. Jiraiya smirked, as he had noticed their handy work, as soon as the Haruno had opened their door this morning.

He decided to allow the young trio a little while to get ready for the day before he introduced his godson to the art of removing seals, his expression saddened, as he realized just how much more pain he was going to put Naruto through.

Naruto and the girls went through their morning routine, group shower, the group embarrassment to this activity had gone down, as they became used to the idea of seeing each other naked. Getting dressed, Haku began to allow Naruto to help her with her bindings, but they figured after the chuunin exams it wouldn't matter, as her secret would be out. Finally they had breakfast, a little early for their day off, but since they were up.

Around eight there was a gentle knock on the door. Naruto opened the door and allowed Jiraiya in, but noticed the grimace on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Jiraiya sighed, and then explained, "Well, first off, I'm going to have hurt you more, even after all you've been through." The sadness in his tone was evident. "The good news is that you'll be ready for the chuunin exams after I'm done with removing the seals. Are there any more seals on you? Any that might prevent you from having children or worse, something under the skin?"

Naruto looked confused and turned to Haku and Hinata, who both just shrugged. "We don't know of any other seals on me than those we found. What would we need to do to figure out if there were any more seals?" he asked in a worried tone.

Jiraiya got a lecherous grin. "Well to figure out if you had any seals that prevented you from having children you would need to have sex," he explained, as all three paled at this. "I could watch to make sure that you don't have one."

Naruto's face scrunched up and took an angry visage. "You just want to watch me and one of the girls having sex don't you?" he asked angrily.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes, and said, "While it would be enlightening, and more than likely entertaining. I'm more asking for you to see if you've had a seal put on your…" he pointed down towards his crotch, "goods. You see during an orgasm, chakra is sent directly into that area and would reveal any seals that were there. So, no I'm not asking to watch you have sex, I'm just wanting to make sure that we get rid of them all and I don't have to do this again. So go back into the bedroom and either relieve yourself, have one of the girls do it, or… you could try to channel chakra to that area. I would try both and have someone watch to make sure about seals, just in case."

Both Hinata and Haku blushed at the implications of what Jiraiya had asked. Asking for them to have Naruto reach an orgasm, it was something that they wanted to wait for until they were all married. Naruto lowered his head and began to think, until his head was grabbed by Jiraiya.

"Kid, this in Uchiha seal used when the military police were around, and has Fugaku's name written all over it, really, he signed it," Jiraiya admitted with a smile, and thought, 'Idiot'.

Naruto shooed Jiraiya away from his head with a couple of gentle swats, as he began to contemplate what his godfather was saying. "So you want me to either have sex with one of my future wives or have them bring me to a climax while they watch for a seal to appear on me?" he asked, as Jiraiya nodded. "Jeez, are you some kind of pervert?"

Jiraiya scowled, and said, "I'm not 'some kind of pervert'. I'm a super pervert. Now get to work, unless you've already checked for this."

Hinata and Haku blushed, as they shook their heads. They hadn't even thought about that type of seal, keeping their Naruto from having children with either of them. Hinata grabbed Naruto's hand and looked at Haku, and declared, "For Naruto-kun, we must find out, come with me Haku-chan."

Naruto wore a desperate look, as Jiraiya smiled and gave Naruto the 'thumbs up' sign. "Go get'em tiger," he proclaimed, as Naruto was dragged into the bedroom and the door shut behind them. 'This shouldn't take too long,' Jiraiya thought to himself.

Naruto gave Hinata and Haku a pleading look.

Hinata led Naruto to the bed, and said, "Strip, we're going to make sure our Naruto-kun is ready and working for our wedding night."

Naruto did as ordered and then laid on the bed, as naked as the day he was born. Naruto wore a worried look on his face, as Haku gently cupped his face.

Hinata then sat next to Naruto, as Jiraiya entered the room, and then she asked, "Naruto-kun, remember our chakra exercises?" Naruto nodded, and she continued, "Now push some chakra to your groin."

Naruto furrowed his brow, as he did as ordered. A seal appeared and Naruto grabbed the sheets, as if in pain. He then yelled out in pain.

Jiraiya immediately stepped forward and examined the seal. He shook his head, and quickly used the sheet to cover Naruto leaving only his scrotum visible. Anger filled the seal master, as he recognized the work. "Sorry, better to know now than on your wedding night," Jiraiya explained.

Naruto nodded, as sweat began to pour down his face.

Jiraiya took one of the empty inkwells and then drew some of Naruto's blood into it. He then added some ink from a full well into the well, sealed it with a cork and then shook it. He then grabbed a brush and began to paint on Naruto's scrotum, and then did several hand seals and tapped the new seal. "Punishment seal release," he proclaimed, as Naruto again writhed in pain. The seal from before appeared then began to flake off.

"Nasty little seal, meant for rapist. I recognize this work also, Ibara Yamanaka, she's a vindictive one. My guess is this is her attempt to prevent Naruto from impregnating their heir, Ino," Jiraiya explained.

Haku glared at the red area where the seal used to be. "The seal is gone, and a Yamanaka is to blame? Ino and I are going to have a little discussion," she said in an angry tone.

Jiraiya nodded. "Sorry to get you guys all flustered, but I wanted to be sure my godson could have children. Now to get the other seals taken care of," Jiraiya said kindly. He then put his hand on Naruto's chest, and said, "I can guarantee that there will be more pain, but after we're done you'll feel like a new man."

Naruto nodded and began to focus chakra. Jiraiya shook his head, as the seals became evident. "Hm… What to choose first? I think we should do the Hyuuga one near the heart first. A dead-man's switch, on command the heart will be overloaded with that person's own chakra. Yep a good one to get rid of," he explained to no one in particular, as he began to write over the exposed seal. He also touched the other three seals with his brush, as he began the process of destroying the seals. "Dead-man, release!" he proclaimed, as the seal near Naruto's heart glowed and then burned off. Naruto all the while let out a blood curdling scream.

Hinata began to tear up, as Naruto screamed, Haku hugged the younger girl, hoping that this would help their loved one in the end. When the seal finally burned away Naruto's breathing retuned if only slightly labored.

Jiraiya smiled, as he knew from former clients that that seal hurt like the dickens when it was removed. "Okay, two down, and five to go. Let's get those on your head and neck next," Jiraiya ordered, as Naruto sat up. Jiraiya then went through several hand seals and then tapped the top of Naruto's head.

Naruto's eyes rolled into the back of his head, as he fell back on the bed and began to convulse. Haku in a worried voice asked, "What is happening to him?"

Jiraiya sighed, as he examined Naruto, and then said, "That seal was blocking his ability to think, in several ways and with it gone he will be able to concentrate at least a little better."

"Why only a little better?" Hinata asked.

"That seal was never meant to be on someone for more than a year, and with Fugaku being dead for several years, I don't know what the risks are for it being on him for so long. I'm just mad at sensei for not checking for these problems earlier, and especially for not informing me earlier, so that I could keep an eye out for Naruto," Jiraiya admitted.

Naruto's eyes fluttered open, and his vision was clearer than it had been before. "My head hurts, but I seem to be able to see clearer now," Naruto said.

"That good kid, we have a few more to go, the next one is going to leave you with one hell of a headache when we're done, I want the one on your neck gone so that your brain will get the needed chakra, and then we'll get those storage seals removed. We can then fix the filter seal so that the fox doesn't poison you anymore," Jiraiya explained.

Jiraiya removed the seal on Naruto's neck and he slept for a couple hours. Kurenai arrived to find Naruto in bed sleeping gently, she blushed, as she then move the sheets to recover Naruto's crotch. Jiraiya was getting tired, as undoing the seals had taken a lot out of both them. Jiraiya let Naruto wake up and have lunch and meet with his sensei. Naruto wasn't exactly totally lucid, as he was adjusting to added chakra flowing to his brain. Jiraiya then worked on the storage seals, as both would hold different levels of chakra and then release them into his system at different intervals, and he had to be careful not to damage Naruto's chakra system. This took another hour. The final seal was designed to counteract the filter in the fourths original seal and allow the Kyuubi chakra to leak freely into his system. Naruto apparently had developed a resistance to the Kyuubi's chakra, and the poisoning was limited to areas around the seal.

The release of this seal caused Naruto untold pain, as the seal had also stored up a lot of Kyuubi chakra and released it once it was removed. Naruto passed out, but not before being engulfed in red chakra. Sarutobi and an ANBU contingent appeared at the door at this point. Jiraiya let the Hokage in, but also berated him for what he had done, while Naruto was blissfully asleep. Naruto woke two days later, the day before the chuunin exams were supposed to start.

The first thing that hit his mind was that he really needed to go to the bathroom. He streaked past the open door only to be seen by his fiancés, a pervert, and two other women.

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A/N: I hope the explanation of the seals helped. Naruto will get lose some control from the loss of the seals, but his ability to concentrate on things will be better than before. A little distraction can go a long ways, and in Naruto's case, already being distracted doesn't help.

Next chapter the beginnings of the chuunin exams and here comes a Tanuuki.


	9. Chapter 9 Exams

Disclaimer: Check chapter 1 for my disclaimer...

Chapter 9 – Exams…

Naruto finished relieving himself and then returned to the bedroom to dress. He wondered who the blonde and brunette women were. He would find out soon enough. Naruto finished dressing in some casual clothes and entered the living room quietly.

The blonde woman looked at Naruto, but upon closer inspection he noticed her eyes were ready to burst with tears. "Tsunade-sama, I would assume," he said quietly, as the woman replied with a nod.

"I'm happy to make your acquaintance," Naruto said, then shook his head and smiled at Hinata, and added, "I'm sorry; my head still isn't quite all there, and the lessons from Hinata-chan are supposed to help. I hope I didn't offend you with what I said."

Tsunade disappeared in the blink of an eye and was standing in front of Naruto. Naruto knew the reputation of the woman for having super-human strength, and thus he cringed, waiting for her to hit him. He felt two arms wrap around him and a gentle kiss on the forehead. He opened his eyes to sight of two massive breasts in his face, he decided to close his eyes rather than incur the wrath of either his fiancés or Tsunade.

Tsunade hugged Naruto, but then felt heat upon her chest and slowly released the boy, and noticed his massive blush. She grinned at this, and then lowered herself and hugged him again. She then whispered into his ear, "I missed you, Naru-chan."

Naruto opened his eyes to the sight of Hinata and Haku with smiles and tears in their eyes. "What's going on?" he asked in his confusion.

"If what we think is true, we will have a big surprise for you. Now we want you to mold some chakra into this paper," Tsunade explained, as she released him and handed him a sheet of chakra paper.

Naruto concentrated and watched, as the paper split in two, not something new to him. One side began to crumble about half way and the other side soaked about half way. Naruto looked up in confusion, and asked, "What does this mean?"

"Well gaki, it looks like you have three chakra affinities. The seals messed with your chakra and allowed the Kyuubi to come into prominence. Apparently its chakra is wind based. Your natural chakra affinity is both water and earth. I wondered how you could have such lousy control and do the water based jutsu so easily. Hime here might have an answer for you if you'll allow us to run a couple of tests," Jiraiya explained.

Naruto looked down at the paper and nodded.

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The group left the apartment and headed towards the hospital. Tsunade looked around and said, "You know this is at the back end of the Senju district."

The three teens just nodded, as they continued into the market, only to bump into a couple of Hyuuga. Hinata gasped at the sight, and whispered, "Neji-niisan…"

Neji turned and glared at Hinata, and said, "So the failure of the main house finally shows her face and with the unwanted of the village."

A hand was placed on his shoulder, and the woman connected to it said, "Neji-kun, please take the food back to the manor. I will be along shortly."

Neji bowed and took bags of groceries from the woman. "As you wish Hitomori-sama," he replied, and left towards the Hyuuga manor.

Hitomori glared at Hinata and then at Naruto. "So the demon and his slut have shown themselves, die both of you," she exclaimed, as Hinata grabbed her head and fell to her knees.

Naruto looked at the woman, as he caught Hinata. "What are you doing to her?" he asked in a frantic voice.

Hitomori looked down at Naruto in confusion, and asked, "Why aren't you dying, demon?"

Hitomori turned when someone tapped her shoulder, and said, "I removed your seal." Jiraiya then punched the woman in the face, and angrily shouted, "Do that again and they won't find you. Attack either my godson or his betrothed and you'll have to deal with me, Hyuuga or not. If I see any of you use the seal again, I'll find a way to remove it from the cadet branch and turn them loose on the head branch. Do I make myself clear?"

Hitomori nodded, as she picked herself up and left the scene quickly. ANBU quickly appeared, and Naruto recognized one of them as the cat masked, purple haired ANBU from the day of the attack. "What happened?" she asked.

"Tell sensei that there will be a complaint filed today from the Hyuuga and that he WILL ignore it. We will be by later to clear it up and file our own charges against the Hyuuga," Tsunade explained, as the ANBU nodded and disappeared.

Naruto picked up Hinata bridal style and then made haste to the hospital. Tsunade did a quick diagnostic and determined that there would be no permanent damage if she received immediate medical attention.

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After getting Hinata situated and leaving Haku to watch over her, Naruto, Jiraiya, Shizune and Tsunade headed to a little known wing of the hospital known as 'bloodline services'.

Naruto waited, as the technician drew several vials of blood from Naruto. Naruto was surprised that the woman doing this was kind and compassionate, as she poked the needle in his arm and when she finished. Though she said few words, none were mean or violent, as they were all kind and caring.

"Tsunade-sama, the tests you requested will take a few hours, but the special one will take a couple days or so to finish," the kind woman explained.

Tsunade smiled at the woman and then ruffled Naruto's hair. "Thank you Momo, I look forward to the results. We more than likely will be in Hinata Hyuuga's room keeping her company," she replied, as she guided Naruto back towards the room where Hinata was staying in.

Naruto looked up at Tsunade with a quizzical look, and asked, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Tsunade sighed. "First, I knew your mother, and should have been informed that she was near death. Second you deserve to have someone be nice to you other than your fiancés, and if what I think is true…" she said, then gave a stern look at Jiraiya who shared her look, as she continued, "then you're more special than you could imagine to me, Naru-kun."

Naruto continued to be confused, as they entered Hinata's room to find Hiashi and Sarutobi in the room. Naruto was immediately in front of the Hokage. "What will you do now? The Hyuuga have assaulted my fiancé and if Jiraiya hadn't removed the seal over my heart I would be dead now, possibly with the Kyuubi running amok on this village," Naruto angrily explained.

Sarutobi looked at Jiraiya, who just nodded. "Well name the Hyuuga who did this, and we will punish them," Sarutobi said.

Naruto looked at Jiraiya who handed a scroll to Sarutobi, and said, "Hitomori Hyuuga assaulted Hinata. The list of the ones who put seals on Naruto are, as follows: Fugaku Uchiha, signed by none other than himself, Ibara Yamanaka, with an anti-rapist seal, I would charge her with both molestation and assault of a minor, no matter what her intentions, and the one over the heart was from a Hyuuga, no specific authors could be determined. The storage seals, chakra blocker on the neck and filter seal had no finger prints per say. So what are you going to do to compensate my godson?"

Hiashi nodded and smirked. "As the Hyuuga head I will tell the main house that if they attack Hinata again that you, Master Jiraiya will put the same seal upon them all, with a twist. They will be subject to the branch family. Also the Hyuuga will compensate you for this assault. My one question is this: where was my nephew while this was happening?" he asked.

Naruto scowled, and replied, "He was sent away with the groceries like the servant she believed he was. He also insulted Hinata-chan."

Hiashi sighed at this, as he wasn't surprised that his nephew held a grudge again Hinata for that night. 'You will have to figure out that it was your father that made the choice, but right now you're just not ready to hear it,' he thought to himself.

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Hinata was released the next day after a quick check to make sure she was fine. The three spent the rest of the day in the library reading up on being a chuunin, as in duties and expectations. Naruto kept on having problems with the math, with a little help, he quickly figured things out, and his frustration level was at an all time low. He was learning without difficulty. The final thing that was to be done was to eat dinner and get ready for the chuunin exams the next morning. Naruto actually fixed a nice dinner without ramen, although it did have noodles. They all happily went to bed and fell asleep.

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Naruto woke up early and found Tsunade and Shizune asleep on his couch when he got up to start the shower. He smelled Tsunade's breath, as it smelled heavily of sake and quickly averted his eyes when her ample bosom nearly spilled out of her blouse, as she shifted positions on the couch. Naruto quickly grabbed some extra comforters and covered the sleeping women.

Hinata got out of bed and noticed that the shower hadn't been started and walked to the doorway only to notice Naruto covering Tsunade and Shizune with comforters on their couches. She smiled warmly, as Haku put a hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly at both Naruto and her. "He does have a big heart, doesn't he?" Haku asked quietly.

Hinata nodded, and replied, "Yes, but I think them being here has more to do with what they're not telling us. I know she asked for tests to be run. One set were bloodline and I'm guessing the second would be genealogy, but I can't figure out what she wants to accomplish with that."

Haku nodded and left the pondering former Hyuuga to get the shower ready. Hinata watched, as Naruto set a couple of extra places for Tsunade and Shizune at the table, and then came into the bedroom and closed the door behind himself. "We need to hurry if we want to make it to the exams on time," he said, as he kissed her cheek and headed to the bathroom.

Hinata smiled and followed Naruto into the bathroom. 'I know we are not showing him a good example about how to live, as a noble, but I just feel free when we live like this. Maybe it's because we don't have to worry about doing the wrong thing,' she thought to herself, as she disrobed and helped her fiancé and sister get ready for today's events.

Twenty minutes later all three left the bathroom. While Naruto quickly dressed, Hinata helped Haku with her bindings. Hinata watched Naruto prepare an ungodly amount of stuff for their test and seal it into scrolls for them. "Naruto-kun, why so much stuff?" she asked, as she finished getting into mission gear. She also noticed that each of them wore the camouflage version of their clothes. Naruto's was burnt orange, white, and black, while Haku's was brown, black, and dark blue, and Hinata's was black, dark purple and lavender, all were in patterns meant to confuse an enemy if they were in any type of terrain.

Naruto looked up and smiled wide, "The second part is a survival test, so I want to make sure we are prepared. I figured we would need about a week's worth of rations, and about the same in weapons, but then I tripled the amount of weapons, because we might go up against other shinobi."

"Good call Naru-chan," Tsunade called from the now open doorway. She grinned a grin similar to Naruto's, and added, "Thanks for the covers, but we could have used them when we sneaked in last night. Shizune is cooking you a good breakfast so that you will be ready for the test."

Naruto blushed at being called 'chan', after some teaching by Hinata he learned that a parent or older relative would call their child or younger relative with the chan suffix, instead of kun. "So, are you taking the role of mother, aunt or grandmother?" he asked playfully.

"For now I will take either mother or aunt, you choose," she replied with a warm smile.

"Well, since I basically raised myself, you can be my aunt," he replied, as Tsunade winced at the 'raising himself' portion, and just nodded at being his aunt. Naruto then asked, "So, Obasan, are you going to watch the first part?"

Tsunade smiled and shook her head, as the four left the bedroom and entered the kitchen to a pleasant aroma. "Nope, the first part is all you guys, as there can be no interference from us," she explained, as everyone sat down to a fully setup breakfast, along with a smiling Shizune.

"Thank you for fixing us breakfast Shizune-san," Haku said.

"You're welcome Haku-chan," Shizune replied with a smile, then added, "Now eat up! You might need it."

The breakfast was eaten with only small talk between the five people.

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Naruto and his team arrived at the academy to find groups of people from different ninja villages entering the building. Tsunade gently hugged Naruto, Hinata, and Haku in order, as Shizune followed suit. "Now show them what you can do Naru-chan," Tsunade said with a smile, and added, "Pass or fail I will see you after the exam."

Naruto nodded, as he led the girls into the building. They came to the second floor only to find a large group of people gathered near a door labeled 301. Naruto leaned his head between the girls, and asked, "We're supposed to go to room 301, but isn't this the second floor? Hinata-chan is there a genjutsu present? And if so should I get rid of it?"

Hinata looked around and noticed the shimmer near the sign and the two boys standing in front of the door. "There is a genjutsu, Naruto-kun," she explained.

"We should leave it and move on, as this might be a test in itself to weed out those who aren't ready," Haku said, as she added her input.

Naruto nodded, as Hinata lead the way around the genjutsu. Naruto and his team rolled their eyes, as they heard Sasuke proclaim, "Take down this genjutsu!"

All three thought the same thing, 'Idiot!'

Kurenai met them at the door with a smile, and said, "I'm glad you all came here together. I wish you luck and be careful, as there are some powerful teams in there."

She moved out of the way, as the three entered the room.

Instantly Naruto's team saw several faces they recognized. Kiba and his team, as well as Shikamaru and his team were present.

"What a drag, the outlanders made it too," Shikamaru exclaimed with a smile.

Naruto looked at Choji and asked, "So how did you get the lazy one up here and on time, no less?"

"His mother told him that she would be 'troublesome' if he didn't make chuunin," Choji explained happily.

Naruto nodded, as he looked around the room. He felt the killing intent from several teams, and most especially from Gaara himself. Naruto smiled warmly at Gaara, which stopped the killing intent immediately, only to be replaced by a confused look on his face. The other person who caught Naruto's attention was a girl sitting on a desk with a Waterfall band on her right arm. She was dressed in white, red eyes and had lime green hair. She seemed to exude power like Gaara and he did. She looked over at Naruto who just nodded and smiled. She smiled and blushed at Naruto.

Kiba walked next to Naruto and said, "Down tiger, leave a few for the rest of us."

Naruto chuckled at his friend's comment, but was surprised when the girl walked over and stood before Naruto. She appeared to be about fifteen or so. "So cutie, you ready for this test?" she asked.

Naruto smiled, and replied, "As ready as I'll ever be. My name's Naruto Uzumaki."

She giggled and said, "My name is Fu, I'll be looking for you and your friend here in the next portion of the exam."

Kiba whistled, as she sauntered back to her team. Naruto and Kiba both noticed the glare from one of her teammates. Naruto was sure now that she was a jinchuuriki, just not which one she carried. "So you like what you see Kiba?" he asked his friend, as Hinata wrapped an arm around his waist. She smiled, as she noticed a slight waver in the smile on Fu's face. Naruto quietly said, "Be nice Hinata-chan, as she's like me."

Hinata looked up at Naruto and asked, "Are you sure?"

Kiba looked confused, as Naruto nodded and replied, "She has a similar feel to Gaara, but not as malicious."

The doors opened, only to have Naruto and Kiba wince, as they heard a squeal of Ino glomping onto Sasuke. "Get off, Ino," he growled.

Naruto, Kiba, and their teams just laughed, as Sakura and Ino began to bicker. The sudden laughter was broken by another Konoha genin with silver hair and glasses. "I would keep it down if I were you, as there are lot of teams here that would eat little newbies like you for breakfast," he warned.

"Who are you and why should we listen to you?" Sasuke asked.

The boy smiled and pulled a deck of cards out of his mission pouch. "Because I've been through this test before, by the way my name is Kabuto," he explained.

"How many times have you been through this test?" Shikamaru asked, as Naruto noticed a raised eyebrow from his friend, so he watched this Kabuto cautiously.

"The chuunin exams are held every six months and I've been in them seven times, so I've been able to collect a lot of data from the participants," Kabuto explained.

"You have information on participants?" Sasuke asked, as Kabuto nodded.

Kabuto put a card down and began to spin it under his index finger, and to most it showed that he was applying chakra to the card. It showed a picture of the elemental nations, a bar on each nation, and a number that seemed to represent how many participants each nation had entered in the exams, ranging from Taki (Waterfall), with only three teams, to Konoha with over forty teams. He then explained what they were seeing, "You see each of the nations have entered some teams into these exams, with the new Sound village and Waterfall entering with the weakest showing, while the home village has the strongest."

"Do you have information on people in this exam?" Sasuke asked, as Naruto rolled his eyes, but thought it a good plan to figure out what opponents could do before is better than finding out when you ran into them.

"Yes I do, do you have anyone in mind?" Kabuto asked.

"Yes, Gaara of the Desert, Rock Lee of Konoha, and Naruto Uzumaki, also of Konoha," Sasuke replied gleefully.

"No fair, you already know their names," Kabuto said in a mock pout. He then pulled a card out and concentrated on it, as a picture of Gaara appeared, he began to read from it.

"Let's see, Gaara of the Desert, now this is interesting, he has had many missions, but has never injured in the completion of all his missions. Rock Lee, under Maito Gai, along with teammates Neji Hyuuga and Tenten, he appears to be a taijutsu specialist. Now finally, Naruto Uzumaki, he's a fairly well balanced shinobi, but seems to lack any skill with genjutsu, he is partnered with Haku Momochi and Hinata formerly of the Hyuuga. It seems that they were all taught by Zabuza Momochi, but are now currently under Kurenai Yuuhi, and have performed quite well with no failed missions," he finished with a smile.

Naruto caught movement out of the corner of his eye and watched, as three Sound shinobi assaulted Kabuto for insulting the Sound village. As it appeared to come to actual blows Ibiki appeared with a whole slew of chuunin proctors.

"Now listen up maggots! I'm in charge and you will sit down and shut up!" Ibiki yelled at the gathered genin. He then continued, "Now if you will find your assigned seats, I will explain the rules, and I will not allow questions until I'm finished explaining or your team will be disqualified!"

All the teams found their seats, and Naruto found himself sitting between Fu and Sakura, lucky him.

Ibiki smiled, as everyone found their spot and finally sat down. "Now here are the rules. The tests in front of you can be turned over when I say 'begin' and not until then. You will each start with ten points each, but if you or any of your teammates are reduced to zero your whole team will be failed. For each wrong answer you will lose one point, but for each time you're caught cheating you will lose two points. So if you're caught five times by the proctors spread throughout the room, your team will then be failed. If there are not any questions we will be able to start the exam. The final question will be held until the last fifteen minutes of the exam, as you'll have an hour to complete this exam. Any questions?" he asked.

As no one appeared to have any questions, he said, "You may begin."

Naruto turned the paper over and read the questions. He then thought about the rules and came to a conclusion, 'Either you know the answers or you will have to cheat and get them.' Naruto reread the questions again.

'I can answer about three of them, and that should be enough for me to pass the test, I could try to cheat once to see if I can get away with it,' he thought to himself. He then answered the three he actually knew. He then glanced over at the papers on either side of him and then at the proctors, he noticed them looking intently at the examinees, and occasionally writing things down.

Suddenly a kunai passed below his face and embedded itself in the test on the person behind Sakura. "Number one-seventeen, you and your team fail," Ibiki proclaimed with a grin.

Naruto inwardly smirked, as he had garnered two more answers from Sakura and now had Ibiki's attention. "Ibiki-sensei?" he asked, as Ibiki nodded to Naruto. Naruto feigned fear, but Ibiki could tell he wasn't serious, as Naruto asked, "Did you just try to kill me?"

"No, but I could have, now get back to work!" Ibiki ordered.

Naruto finished the other two questions, and even if he had been caught they would be a wash. Naruto listened carefully, as he heard several other teams in quick succession being disqualified for cheating. Naruto watched carefully, as other teams figured out ways of cheating. Naruto turned his paper over and waited for the last fifteen minutes to arrive. During his wait he also met the smile of Fu, Hinata and Haku. Naruto also noticed Sakura slump and he felt her chakra change, and thought to himself, 'Must be Ino using Sakura for the answers. Good idea, as she was the brainiest one in our class.'

Ibiki cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Now put down your pencils and turn over your tests," he said with authority. He waited until everyone had completed the task, he then continued, "Now for the last question. For those of you with big heads listen carefully. Being a shinobi is about deception and misdirection. It isn't always about who can use the biggest jutsu. Now for the final question, you may take this question, but there is a catch, if you do, one of your team will automatically stay a genin for the rest of their lives, no chance for promotion ever. Now who wants to continue?"

Naruto's team stood up as one and left the room, as he exclaimed, "Too rich for my blood! See ya, Ibiki-sensei!" Several other teams left the room quickly, including the Sand, Waterfall, several Konoha, and many other teams.

Sakura looked over at Sasuke and Sai. Sasuke glared at her, as if saying, 'You better not leave.'

Sakura not wanting to be forced to stay a genin stood up and glared back at Sasuke as Sai walked to her side. "So dickless, are you coming?" he asked, as the remaining genin began to laugh.

Sasuke not wanting to hear any more ridicule stood, and headed towards the door. As the door close behind him he heard Ibiki proclaim, 'All of you who remain have failed.' Sasuke sighed relief, as his team had saved him from failing out of this exam.

The teams were guided into room 302. There they found those that had actually passed the first portion of the exams. Sasuke paled at the sight of the woman up front. First Naruto was talking with her like an old friend. Second her outfit left little to the imagination. While her chain shirt didn't show skin, he was sure what she looked like under the shirt. 'Great another one of the loser's friends,' he thought to himself.

"Alright maggots! My name is Anko Mitarashi, and I'm your proctor for the second portion of the exams. I want you to meet me tomorrow morning at nine am at training ground forty-four. Bring along your mission equipment. If you need directions, ask your jounin sensei. Now get out of my sight!" Anko yelled, as the assembled genin left the room to find their sensei.

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A/N: seemed like a good spot to stop.


	10. Chapter 10 Truths and trees

Disclaimer: I claim nothing…

I hope you enjoy the chapter… Also this chapter has not been to the beta. Sorry for the delay.

Chapter 10 – Truths, revelations and a forest…

Naruto, Hinata and Haku all met Tsunade and Shizune outside the academy after Anko let the genin out of the room.

Tsunade smiled and offered an arm to Naruto, to have him embraced by the older woman. Naruto looked at the girls in confusion until Hinata guided Naruto into Tsunade's embrace.

"Man if it isn't younger women, now it's older women, man you have all the luck," Kiba said in a sarcastic tone, as he and his team passed them by, Naruto noted that the female Hyuuga on the team was blushing at Kiba's comment, but also stealing glances at Kiba.

Naruto nodded towards the girl, as Kiba stole a glance and blushed, as the girl turned bright red at his notice. Naruto nodded to Kiba who offered her an arm, which she quickly took. "Go easy on her, or Hiashi-sama will make sure you're not able to have puppies," Naruto exclaimed, as Kiba paled and nodded. Naruto chuckled at the joke, only to have Tsunade tap him on the back of the head while shaking hers.

Tsunade led the group to the hospital and to the wing that Naruto had given a blood sample to. Naruto smiled, as they approached and he recognized Momo. "Hey Momo-chan, any news for us?" he asked happily.

Momo looked up from her paperwork and smiled warmly at the group. "Why yes Naruto-kun, we do. I would like to talk to Tsunade-sama alone first, as she is a more experienced doctor than I, but we do have some news for you," she replied happily.

Tsunade and Momo left the others in the room. Momo closed the door behind the two of them and looked directly at Tsunade with a scowl. "What did you find out?" Tsunade asked.

"As far as I can tell the Senju are not dead, at least the bloodline that is. Also there is another bloodline within the Naruto-kun, one we haven't seen for quite a while. Unlike your jutsu, Naruto-kun has regeneration. So either Naruto-kun is related to you for the Senju bloodline or the fox gave it to him. The other test will tell us if he is related to you Tsunade-sama, and Minato-sama," Momo said.

Tsunade nodded at this information. "We can inform him that he has the regeneration one, but I want to wait on telling him that he might be a Senju until the report comes back," she replied, but then said under her breath, "If it's true, then sensei is going to be in big trouble."

"As you wish Tsunade-sama, I will inform Naruto-kun. I do believe that the fox helps speed up the healing, but the demonic chakra is poisonous to the body and a human can only take so much at a time, his regeneration allows him to deal with it more easily than an average human would be able too," Momo explained.

Tsunade nodded, as both women left the room and returned to the others. Sarutobi was there with both Hinata and Naruto glaring at him. "Greeting Hokage-sama, what can I do for you today?" Momo asked, as she bowed to the Hokage.

Sarutobi raised his hand and smiled. "I'm here to check up on my student and do a little checking on my own," he answered kindly.

"Yeah, right, more than likely you hid your dirty book here and wanted to find it," Naruto said derogatorily.

Sarutobi chuckled at Naruto's pointed jab. "Actually I was wondering why both of my students have taken interest in you Naruto-kun?" he more asked than stated.

"Pervert is his godfather, and I'm interested because I was a friend of his mother. There may also be more, you old coot," she said with a growl.

"Oh, really? And what would that be?" Sarutobi asked, as everyone then looked at Tsunade.

Tsunade gritted her teeth. "Well… there is a possibility that Naruto is my grandson, as Minato might have been the child whom you told me to give up for adoption, so that I could pursue my shinobi career," she explained.

"That would interesting, and what evidence do you have to back up this claim?" Sarutobi asked.

Tsunade nodded to Momo. Momo began to read off her chart, "Naruto-kun possess more than one bloodline, firstly he had the Mokuton bloodline of our first Hokage, along with a strong wind affinity, that is more than likely caused by the sealing of the Kyuubi within the boy. Secondly, he has a regeneration bloodline, which uses chakra to repair damaged cells, unlike Tsunade-sama's 'Creation Rebirth' jutsu, which just causes cells to multiply more quickly than normal to simulate healing. Naruto-kun's body regenerates without the damage or scaring. He might scar if he were to get an injury from a lightning jutsu, but it would have to be of C-rank or above to do such a thing," she explained.

Sarutobi nodded, and said, "I see… So since he has your grandfather's bloodline you think that he might be your grandson? You know that the records of orphans or children given up for adoption are either destroyed or are for the Hokage's eyes only."

"You bastard! You're trying to keep him from his family!" Tsunade yelled at Sarutobi.

"No, unfortunately the records of your child and Minato were lost during the third shinobi war. Thus the reason we couldn't prove either way if you were his mother or not. Your fear of blood kept you from finding out, as your genetic records were lost. We do know that the ability is a male dominated trait, and thus could have spread through the other branches," Sarutobi explained.

"Right, as the last Senju with the bloodline, even if it is inactive," she retorted.

Naruto growled at Sarutobi. "And if she is my grandmother, will you stop her from seeing me?" he asked angrily.

"No, by all means she can adopt you if she likes, and if you turn out to be her grandson, all the better for the village to have the bloodline and the Senju back, but until then you will have to keep your mother's name for your protection," Sarutobi ordered.

"Protection? From who Iwagakure? Don't give me that! I know the Uchiha have just as many enemies as my father and there hasn't been a single attempt on teme since his clan was killed! So your protection, be damned," Naruto angrily replied. "But I'm used to the name anyways and figure it will honor my mother and my aunt by keeping it for now." He then looked at Tsunade and smiled warmly, and said, "You know, if you really are my grandmother, it would make me happy."

Tsunade embraced Naruto, as he felt a tear hit his face, and she replied, "Me too… me too."

----------

Naruto spent the rest of the day working on chakra control, as it had gone down to eighty percent of what it was before. Sure he could do jutsu, but he would waste a lot of chakra if he didn't get it back under control. Hinata, Haku and Shizune worked with him to do different training exercises with his clones to bring his control back to where it should be. Naruto of course used his ability with clones to help him in this endeavor. Anko watched this display with both awe and mirth, as her friend was now free of some of his burdens. She reflexively reached up and touched her shoulder.

Tsunade and Jiraiya had gone to see Sarutobi, and for once the man sat and took the verbal abuse from his students without a word. His students had a point at him not telling them about Kushina and Hana. His only saving grace was since his students were taking his time up no other shinobi or council members would both them.

Sasuke spent the rest of the day hiding from his team and the fan girls. Sakura spend the day working on a stamina program.

Ino surprisingly received a letter from both of her friends Hinata and Haku, both said that they needed some time to themselves and would talk to her later. This confused her as she thought that she and the two people in the letter were at least friends. She also thought Haku was a hot, even if he was an effeminate guy.

Fu met up with Shino and found out that they had an interesting, if somewhat annoying to their teammates pastime, collecting bugs. Both had been looking for interesting bugs only to find and corner a particular bug they both were looking for. While the conversation covered the gamut of species that they had come across, they stopped short of telling each other of about their reasons for searching for the bugs.

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The teams started to assemble around seven-thirty in the morning at the main gates of Area forty-four. Shino, Fu, and Naruto were the first to show up. All three looked at each other. Naruto sighed and then asked, "You guys were going to seed the area with your bugs in an attempt to keep track of the competition. Weren't you?"

Shino nodded, as Fu nodded and blushed.

"Dang, I was going to do a similar thing with my shadow clones," Naruto admitted. "Oh well if only three teams know about it then I guess it's okay, Shadow clone jutsu." The area was filled with orange, white and black camouflaged Narutos. "Transform!" each cried out and all of them but the original disappeared. "I like bugs too, they can do so much. And I would like to thank you and your clan for removing the infestation from my home, Shino." Naruto bowed to Shino.

Shino bowed in return as Naruto noticed a couple bugs crawl up his neck and then settle at the base of his head. "Mine will not attack you Naruto-san, and you're welcome for the help. We understand your particular predicament, more than most, as we do with Fu's," he said, as Naruto just nodded, but Fu eyes shot open surprise.

"What predicament are you talking about?" Fu asked.

"As for Naruto's, I cannot say without breaking a law, but it has to do with having two chakra sources, and I will leave it at that, until such time, as we can talk without the possibility of other overhearing our conversation," he explained, as Fu nodded and Naruto smiled. "Why are you using a flea, as your cover Naruto?"

"They are smaller than either of your bugs, and would go unnoticed by Kiba or Akamaru," he replied.

Shino actually chuckled at this comment, as he knew that Naruto and Kiba were very good friends. "That may be true. Now that we have seeded the area all we have to do is wait for the others.

Anko suddenly appeared and looked at the three, as she asked, "What are you three up too?"

Naruto smirked, as the memory of one of his flea clones went back to him. "Nothing much, but I would have never figured you, as a pink girl," he replied, as the memory of the clone seeing Anko's panties came to mind.

Anko blushed and looked down, and pulled her skirt down a little as she noticed a lot of bugs on the ground. "I see, so you put some clones in the work. It isn't against the rules, but looking up my skirt will get you some payback later, gaki. Now what can I do to get even with you?" she asked with a manic grin.

"Ah come on Anko-chan… It was only your panties, it wasn't like I was trying to look at them," Naruto complained.

"Okay, here's how it's going to go, I want you to act afraid when I explain this area, I get to cut you and lick up the blood. You know, for effect…" she said, as Naruto and Fu both paled.

Naruto then smiled and nodded. "Sure, I get it now, you're going for the psychotic woman act, right?" he asked, as Anko smiled and grabbed Naruto in a hug.

"That's my little brother. And I wasn't too worried about you seeing my panties. If you were Jiraiya I would have though, as all I have to do if you something bad is talk to Hinata-chan," Anko said with a grin, as Naruto paled.

Fu looked confused. "Who is Hinata and what hold does she hold over Naruto here?" she asked.

Naruto sighed, as he leaned against the shack that Anko had jumped up and was sitting on, now revealing her pink panties to the other two with a smirk. "She's my fiancée and if she heard that I made advances towards another woman or girl she wouldn't be pleased. As Anko-chan is like a sister, and I've seen her in the near buff, so Hinata isn't too worried about me seeing her," he answered.

"It also helps that Hinata-chan has been more…" Anko was saying, but was cut off by a female voice.

"What Naruto-kun has seen and hasn't seen of me is for him and I to discuss and not for general knowledge. Hello Anko-oneesan," Hinata said, as she wrapped her arms around Naruto's waist, and Haku stood beside him with a smirk on her face.

"Anko-chan, you might want to cover up, unless you want all the other boys to know about your panties and feel less intimidated and more lustful towards you," Haku said with a little too much mirth in her voice.

Anko frowned and then crossed her legs, as the six waited for the others to arrive. The next to arrive were Shino's and Fu's teams. After that the other teams filed into the clearing. None noticed, as three sets of bugs crawled up their legs, five from Naruto, and one each from Shino and Fu.

At nine-o-clock Anko jumped down and began to yell, "Okay maggots! Welcome to the Area forty-four, affectionately referred to, as the Forest of Death! Now, the second part of this exam is a survival exercise for your team. This area has a ten kilometer radius and has one-hundred gates spread around its circumference. Each of you will sign this waiver…" Anko explained, as she held up a sheet of paper, "to release Konoha from any of you that might die in this little test."

"Like a forest could be that deadly…" Naruto said, as Anko threw a kunai cutting his face.

She instantly appeared next to Naruto and licked the slowly bleeding cut, and said, "Tastes good, fear. And you all should know that the forest contains both other teams and animals that could kill you. Now you will have to live off the land in there, as you will have to survive to get to the tower in the center of this area, but first you must collect both of these scrolls." She held up two scrolls, one with heaven and the other with earth written on the side. She then continued, "When your team turns in three forms you will either be given a heaven or an earth scroll. You will need to gather the other to make a set. One heaven and one earth scroll make a set. No, they are not numbered so any pair of heaven and earth scrolls will do."

Suddenly the missing kunai appeared over Anko's shoulder in a tongue. Anko quickly put the scrolls in her coat, but felt a hand slip in and grab both scrolls, as they brushed her stomach, feeling it through her mesh shirt. "What are you doing Grass-san?" she asked, as she looked at the headband of the shinobi with her thrown kunai in her mouth. 'Dang Naruto, you're lucky I don't disqualify you now for palming a set of scroll off of the Procter, but it isn't against the rules either, so I'm just going to let it pass and force him to do my bidding later,' she thought, as her attention returned to the grass ninja.

"I'm sorry Procter, but you dropped this," the grass ninja replied.

"Why thank you Grass-san," Anko replied, as she walked back in front of the shack. She then continued, "Now you will turn in your completed forms here and receive your scroll. Good luck and don't die!"

Naruto was surprised that he didn't get in trouble with Anko for palming the scrolls she had, but wasn't going to complain, as he knew that he would have to pay for this transgression later.

The groups filed into the shack and back out after handing their forms in and receiving a single scroll. They were then sent to their respective gates around Area forty-four.

--------

Naruto smirked, as they reached their designated gate.

"Okay, what did you do Naruto-kun?" Haku asked pointedly.

Naruto smiled and blushed. "Nothing that Shino, or Fu didn't do…" he sheepishly admitted.

Haku crossed her arms. "Explain husband-to-be," Haku demanded.

Naruto pointed to a couple of bug at his hairline. "Shino, Fu and I marked all of the participants with bugs so we know where they are," he replied.

The door opened and they entered the forest. He then continued, "I gave everyone five clone fleas, so that I could find them and keep tabs on them. The first will let me know what gate they are at, so we know who is closest and if they discuss what scroll they have. I also want an extra set just in case the ones I got from Anko-neesan were fakes," he admitted.

"You took the scrolls Anko had, didn't you?" Hinata asked.

Naruto nodded.

The trio stopped, as Naruto took a second to concentrate. He held his head for a second. "We have the Waterfall one to the south a sound team to the north along with a Stone team. So who do we want to go after?" Naruto asked.

"Water fall is sort of an equal if they know water jutsu so it would be a hard fight if they were equals to us. Stone would be strong against us if they know any Earth jutsu. Given that, Sound is an unknown. So let's take the Sound team and see what we can do," Haku replied.

Naruto guided the team to a place along the path of the Sound team.

-----------

Yashu began to worry, as they hadn't found any of the other teams and they had been tasked with taking down as many of the Konoha teams, as they could. He then patted his arm hoping his training with the sound armband would perform, as he had been trained. He looked back at his supposed teammates, Mikoto and Inabi. Inabi was missing and he caught sight of Mikoto falling off of the branch she had jumped to. He stood and looked around. "What the heck is going on?"

He suddenly felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck, and saw two Konoha shinobi land on the branch he was on. One had a dark blue hair and pale eyes, the other had long black hair and kind, brown eyes.

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Naruto caught the Sound genin and realized that the right arm weighed more than it should. He inspected the arm and found a metal band with holes in it. Not knowing the purpose he tapped the band and heard a resonance coming from it. "Great, I guess they use sound. If they push chakra into this they might be able to control the sound waves. That could be a devastating attack, especially if they turned it on your inner-ear," Naruto explained.

"You would lose balance and coordination, thus making you a prime target for other types of attacks," Haku explained.

Hinata pulled out a scroll, a heaven scroll, the one they needed and said, "We should make the rounds and give a warning to the other Konoha genin about the Sound genin. We also can head to the tower now with our complete set. Let's tie them up and get out of here," she said, as she pulled out some ninja wire.

Naruto began to tie up his victim. "Good job at disabling them Haku, and let's finish here and find Kiba as his team is only a little ways away, but we will need to go around their trap, as they found some forest leaches," he explained.

The girls finished tying up the other two Sound genin and then followed Naruto towards Kiba's team.

----------

Sarutobi sighed at this discussion, as it was going nowhere. "The council will want to know this and more than likely want to give him his inheritance," he explained.

"No! I refuse to tell that council of pompous old jerks about this!" Tsunade retorted.

"I agree with Hime here! They don't have a right to know, and even if they do, they aren't ready for it," Jiraiya explained.

"I will still have to inform them and the Daimyo about this," Sarutobi said.

"No! He has had enough problems and doesn't want any more. This would qualify as one," Tsunade said.

"He would be excited by this, don't you think?" Sarutobi said.

"Maybe, but he would need to hear it from someone other than the council, as they have done enough damage to his loyalty to the village. Do you want him to revolt?" Tsunade asked.

"But he will be assured a chuunin rank with this," Sarutobi said.

"No, if he found out that, this was the cause of him getting the promotion he would refuse it unless he deserved it," Tsunade countered.

"But he would have deserved it," Sarutobi explained.

"Like the Uchiha will more than likely be promoted just because he has activated his bloodline?" Jiraiya asked, as Tsunade glared at their sensei.

------------

Kiba smirked, as he pocketed his kunai. "Stand down, it's only Naruto and his team," Kiba explained, as Shino was bandaging their teammate.

Naruto, Hinata and Haku jumped down from the trees, smiled, but then scowled. "I told you not to hurt your teammate or Hiashi would have your hide, dog boy," Naruto teased.

Kiba smirked, as Haku and Hinata began to heal his teammates. "Well we at least got the right scroll from the Stone team," he explained.

"Great, we did the same from a Sound team. That's the reason why we stopped by," Naruto explained, as Shino nodded. "We found out that the Sound team uses sound as a weapon, so keep your ears on guard, as they might use chakra to amplify or direct sound towards your ears to disorient you. Heck it might even make a good genjutsu."

"Wow, that's a good thing to know. Thanks for both, the heads up and the healing, Naruto, Hinata, and Haku," Kiba said.

"Not a problem, Kiba-kun," Hinata replied. "I'm just glad we could help you."

"Well, we're done here. Good luck to you and your team, Kiba. See you at the end of the exams," Naruto said, as he and his team jumped off, deeper into the forest.

-----------

"Orochimaru-sama, we've found Sasuke-kun and his team. They are only a few hundred meters to the south of us," Kabuto said as he looked around.

"Very well Kabuto, we shall see how good Sasuke-kun is," The grass Genin from before replied. "Time for my plans to come to fruition and the exams must go on. After I mark him we shall see what will become of him."

Naruto and his team waited until the two teams had separated and then sat down. Haku and Hinata knew that Naruto was troubled for some reason, as they couldn't hear the conversation, but apparently Naruto had, as he didn't approach the two teams. Naruto sat down slowly as if he were hit by a blow to the stomach.

Hinata and Haku knelt next to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder. "What's going on Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in a worried tone.

Naruto looked up into Hinata's eyes and then into Haku's. "They are after teme. I just don't know if I can or want to save him. Kabuto called the Grass genin Orochimaru," he explained, as both Hinata and Haku went pale. "He said he was going to mark him. My guess is that he is going to mark him like he did Anko-oneesan. I just don't know what to do… I might hate his guts, but what if Orochimaru wants to control him and use the Sharingan. I mean he's bad enough without it, could you imagine him with it?"

"We could tail the pricks team and make sure he doesn't get himself into too much trouble," Haku suggested.

"What business is it of ours what happens to that teme?" Hinata asked.

Naruto thought for a minute and then answered, "With the Sharingan he could learn jutsu a lot quicker and become more of a menace to the village than he is now, and with teme being as unstable, as he is…" he said, as he left the unspoken threat hanging.

Haku began to giggle, as both Naruto and Hinata looked at her like she was crazy. "Looks like we take Zabuza-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Hiashi-dono, Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san, Anko-oneesan, Iruka-san, and the pervert with us to Iwa," Haku said, as a suggestion. This caused all three to break out in laughter.

"Seriously I think we should just tail teme and make sure he keeps himself out of trouble. Let the Sannin mark him. If he becomes too much of a threat we just off him and donate his testicles to the bloodline lab," Naruto said, as both girls giggled at the thought of castrating the Uchiha. Naruto made a hand seal and then said, "Shadow clone jutsu." Two clones appeared before him and left without a word.

---------

Sasuke lay in the roots of a tree that formed a cave like structure. Sakura had just replaced a towel on his forehead in an attempt to relieve the fever he was now under.

Sai entered the cave with his arm in a sling. "Thank you for the sling and I've finished the defenses. They go out for about fifty meters. I made sure to make several fake ones too," he explained. "How is dickless?"

Sakura blushed, but then growled at Sai. "He's not dickless," she exclaimed.

"How do you know? Did you check?" Sai asked in a monotone voice.

Sakura blushed profusely and then had a huge grin on her face. "Yes as a matter of fact I did," she exclaimed, but then her face fell. "But it's so small, I thought with him being an Uchiha it would be enormous."

Sai put his hand up to his face. "Just how big did you expect it to be?" he asked not sure he wanted to know.

Sakura put her thumb up to her mouth and then bit her nail. "Um… well… like well… bigger than he is. He's not really that big," she trailed off, as a line of blood came down from her nose.

Sai looked at her and shook his head.

Naruto began to laugh quietly, as he relayed the dialogue to his teammates. They had a quite laugh at the Uchiha's expense. They also noticed a team from Sound approach team sevens new hide away. "Looks like Sakura isn't the only one after the Uchiha's mini-link," Naruto teased and got the girls to giggle.

The three noticed the traps and Naruto was sure that some were actually well hidden. Especially the one that was hanging from the branch above the root cave that team seven was in.

"Naruto-kun, why are you worried about teme?" Haku asked. Annoyance was evident in her voice.

Naruto grinned and said, "I want him to live long enough to understand his mistakes, then he can die for all I care."

"So you're not seeking revenge, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

Naruto looked contemplative for a minute and then replied, "Revenge wouldn't get him to learn, as it would only cause his death and pain for others who didn't know the situation. Heck it might start a circle of pain that wouldn't end."

Naruto and Hinata then laid down in the crook of a tree and fell asleep, while Haku watched over them. Several hours later Haku woke Hinata for her shift. Eventually it was Naruto's turn to watch over his favorite two girls. He created a couple clones to help him keep an eye around their makeshift camp.

Around dawn he noticed movement from the Sound genin and watched Sakura nearly falling asleep. 'Why hasn't she woken that Sai guy?' he thought, as he watched them move closer and taunt Sakura. Sai woke up only to be hit with a purple senbon and fall back down again. Naruto immediately woke both girls and had them circle around and see if they could help Sai.

The fight between the Sound team and Sakura was definitely one sided, but suddenly Rock Lee appeared out of the trees and sent Dosu flying. The fight between them was interesting to watch, as Lee was a pure taijutsu fighter while Dosu relied on his arm brace, which Naruto found out worked like a tuning fork, but with chakra to direct the sound. Lee nearly took out Dosu with a Primary Lotus. Only quick thinking from his teammate saved Dosu from death, as he pushed a wave of wind based chakra into the landing spot to soften the ground. In an attempt to save Sakura Ino and her team interfered. The fight continued to degrade until Neji arrived and told them that he wouldn't have to interfere because of what was going to happen.

Most watched in morbid fascination at Sasuke woke up and was surrounded by a vile purple chakra. He made quick work of both Kin and Zaku, breaking his arms in the process. Dosu gave up one of his scrolls to be able to retreat from Sasuke's wrath.

Naruto was angry, as he saw the curse mark recede back into Sasuke. His anger was based on Sasuke once again using a shorter path. He was happy that Sakura was able to help him control the mark, but was worried that his mental stability was now totally gone. He and his team ministered to the wounded, but spoke to no one, and left as quickly as they had appeared.

Sasuke was angry that Naruto had shown up and even angrier that his team had healed Sakura and Sai. "Fight me Uzumaki! Or I swear I will kill your bitch!" he threatened.

Naruto only glared, as he watched over his team and ignored Sasuke until they left.

----------

Naruto, Hinata and Haku entered the building after knocking out a team from Kiri and then slipping into the building. They left them their scroll, but took half of their senbon, as payment for annoying their team. They opened the scrolls and found Anko standing in front of them with her hand out.

Naruto sheepishly handed her the scrolls he had taken from her. She smiled as she took the scrolls. "And thanks for the heads up on Orochimaru-teme, Naru-kun," she said, nearly purring out his name. "And the next time you reach into my coat make sure you're after something of value." She winked at Naruto who blushed, but also noticed Haku and Hinata turn red with anger at the older woman.

---------

Naruto stood behind the bed with his arms crossed in a defensive position. "I didn't grab her, really!" He yelled proclaiming his innocence.

Hinata giggled at Naruto defending himself from Haku. For a boy who had one of the most powerful demons sealed in him he sure didn't fight back against 'his' girls.

The door opened and both Tsunade and Jiraiya entered the room. "Lover's spat, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked with a lecherous grin.

Hinata shook her head, and said, "No, Anko made a scene when we came in to the tower."

Tsunade smirked at this, as she knew the woman had a penchant for pain and playing with perverts, not that she would indulge them, she just played with them. Their minds mostly, and occasionally their person, if she felt she could cut them. "So did my nephew cause the problem or was he just at the end of a horny Anko?" she asked, hoping that it wouldn't go beyond Hinata and Haku for women Naruto would have relations with.

"Sort of both, Naruto-kun pilfered the demonstration scrolls Anko was using when Orochimaru distracted her. She apparently wanted him to grope her if he was going to reach into her trench coat. He seems to have disappointed her in not doing so," Hinata explained, as Haku's shoulders sank in resignation and she then embraced Naruto in a loving hug. Hinata smiled warmly at them finally getting along again.

Tsunade laughed at this and then wrapped Haku and Naruto in a huge hug.

"I wish I was in there…" Jiraiya said in a dejected, but quiet tone.

Hinata and Tsunade shared a scowl at Jiraiya. "He has almost forgiven you, as his godfather, you should help him out after we go to the next part of the exam. I know Kurenai-sensei will be working with me and Zabuza-sensei will be splitting his time between Naruto-kun and Haku-chan," she admitted.

"I think I have the perfect things to teach him and I'm sure that Hime will want to spend time with all three of you. We can work out a schedule later, but you have a good idea there, Hinata," Jiraiya said in a complimentary fashion.

Minor training filled the next couple days until they were all told to assemble. They knew things were going to be interesting when Anko grumbled, as she walked by the team.

----------

There were fourteen teams assembled in the area of the tower. Team seven and Kabuto looked the most haggard of the chuunin hopefuls.

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A/N: This chapter was not betaed so sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Dynomike88: The question was a twist on the one given to Idate in the Tea filler arc. The correct answer is to not abandon your teammates for personal gain. Cannon is used so often. So I used a variation on it. Naruto isn't stupid, so he knew how to deal with the question. Sasuke almost paid for it with his arrogance, his teammates saved him. Also he is going to continue to be a jerk, I have plans for the Emo-king.


	11. Chapter 11 Prelims… boredom

Disclaimer: Check chapter 1... Naruto isn't my property, so there...

Chapter 11 – Prelims… boredom

Fourteen teams stood in front of the Hokage and assembled jounin. Anko addressed the assembled genin, "First of all. Congratulations for passing the second part of the exams." 'This is incredible for this many to have passed, I figured it would have been in the single digits. Say three or so teams, but to have fourteen out of thirty-three teams make it this far, it's incredible,' she thought to herself.

She then cleared her throat and said, "Now listen up maggots, as the Lord Hokage is going to explain the rest of the test to you. So listen up." She then turned to the Hokage and bowed her head, as she said, "Lord Hokage, their all yours."

Sarutobi stepped forward and began to speak, "First, before I explain to you what the third exam entails I'm want to explain something about the test itself. Listen closely, as it is something you all need to understand. It concerns the true nature of these exams." He took a minute to allow the genin to ponder his statement. "Why do we all the alliance countries take the exam together?" he asked, as he tilted his hat in front of his face to hide a smirk.

Several including Naruto pondered this question, Naruto was about to answer when he say the Hokage ready to speak again.

"'To promote friendship among the countries' and to 'raise the level of shinobi'. I don't want you to be confused by the true meaning of this exam…" he said, and gave a long pause before he continued, "a replacement for war among the allied countries."

Several of the genin began ask what he was talking about.

"If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage that these countries chose to battle… that is the origins of the chuunin selection exam," he said.

"I thought this was to choose who would become chuunin, not a substitute for war," Kiba exclaimed.

"It is a fact that this exam decides which shinobi have what it takes to become a chuunin. But on the other hand, this exam is where each country's shinobi risk their lives to protect their lands prestige," Sarutobi explained.

"Prestige?" Ino asked.

"There will be important individuals watching these exams, influential leaders and individuals, watching the third part of the exam. They are from many countries and make up the customer base for the shinobi countries and as such they will be watching the finals with a close eye. If they see that a country has a weak showing they will steer their business elsewhere, but if a country has a strong showing this will attract more business to said country, and this will also signal to potential enemies that 'our village has much power'," he explained.

"But why do we have to risk our lives in battle?" Kiba asked.

"The strength of the country is the strength of the village, the strength of the village is the strength of its shinobi. And true shinobi strength is born through risking your lives in battle. This exam is a place where a village and you can show their strength. It only has meaning if you risk your lives, and that is why those that have come before you have fought in the chuunin exam and for this dream that is meaningful," he said in a somber voice.

"But then why did you say that stuff about it being for 'friendship'" Tenten asked.

"I said it in the beginning that I don't want to confuse the purpose of this. By losing live and establishing a balance. This is the shape of friendship in the world of shinobi. Before we begin the third test, I will tell you one more thing. This is not just a test, this is a life-risking battle, with your dreams and your country's prestige on the line," Sarutobi explained.

"I don't care, just tell me what this battle entails, so we can on with this," Gaara said in a cold voice.

"Fine, I'd like to explain the third test but…" Sarutobi began to say, when a man with a bandana and a senbon in his mouth appeared in front of him in kneeling position.

"I apologize, Hokage-sama, from her as proctor. Will you allow me, Shiranui Genma to finish the explanations?" Genma asked.

"By all means…" Sarutobi replied.

Genma turned to the genin and stood, while he did a wave with his hand. "Yo, before the third test is to begin… I would like to do something," he said with a grin that didn't settle well with many of the genin.

He then continued, "I would like to have a preliminary for the third test, as there are still too many of you for the main event."

Naruto shook his head, as he realized that this had been too easy.

"Why do you need to have a preliminary round?" Shikamaru asked angrily.

"Like I said there were too many people left for the third round, meaning that the first and second tests were too easy," Genma explained. He then continued, "According to the rules for the chuunin exams, we must have preliminary round and reduce the numbers. As Hokage-sama enumerated earlier, there will be many important guests at the third test, so the fights might take too long, as we have limited time for them. So do any of you feel that you can't do a fight right now? If so please excuse yourselves and then we will start the preliminary rounds."

Kabuto and an Iwa shinobi both stepped forward, as both looked very haggard. Kabuto then said, "I'm going to quit, as I don't really have much left and would more than likely be beaten by anyone I went against."

The Iwa nodded and said, "I agree with the leaf scum. I won't be able to fight in this condition, sorry guys." He apologized to his teammates.

Genma nodded, as Anko checked names off of the list. "Very well, you two may go," he said, as Anko nodded to him. "Okay, since there aren't any other takers we will continue with the preliminary matches," he explained, as two video screens appeared behind him on the back wall from behind wooden panels. "These electronic scoreboards will show the battle match ups. Now here are the rules: There are few if any. You can use any jutsu or skill to win, but if I call the fight I will you will stop or be disqualified. Also if your opponent is gives up, is knocked out, or dies… you win. Now let's have the first two names."

The names of 'Uchiha Sasuke' of Konoha and 'Ishi Yumi' of Iwa appeared on the screen. Naruto smirked, since he knew that Sasuke was tired and not fresh.

'So are you going to steal from others, teme?' Naruto asked in his mind.

Everyone but the two combatants left the arena flow for the metal balconies on either side of the arena. Naruto found that he was the buffer for Konoha and the water villages, Waterfall, Rain and Water. The Earth, Cloud, and Sand took the other balcony. Naruto found that it appeared that the villages had some division for supposed allies.

Sasuke got into a ready stance on the arena floor while Yumi did the same. "Give up girl, as you're against an Uchiha and will most assuredly lose," Sasuke taunted.

"Bring it chicken butt hair," Yumi replied with a smirk.

Genma stood between the two with a raised hand. He then lowered it and backed off, as he said, "Begin!"

Sasuke disappeared suddenly to quite a few of the combatants. Yumi was suddenly launched into the air, as Sasuke knelt below her with his leg extended to where her chin used to be. Naruto looked around to see anger run across Lee's face. Sasuke then ran through several hand seals and took in a breath, and say, "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu." A ball of fire the size of Sasuke formed about three feet from him and engulfed Yumi, as she descended through the fire. She screamed in agony only to hit the ground. Sasuke continued to apply the fireball for a couple seconds after she had hit the ground. He stopped and surveyed the results. Yumi's clothes were nearly burned off showing most of her body. Luckily for her chest was still mostly covered and she was breathing slowly, as Sasuke moved towards her with a drawn kunai.

"The match is over, Uchiha Sasuke is the winner. Medics!" Genma yelled, as several medics entered the arena, gently placed Yumi on the stretcher and left with her to administer medical treatment.

Naruto noticed one of the Iwa shinobi's eyes burn with hatred, as Sasuke smiled, but also winced from pain on his neck. Sakura was screaming celebratory chants to Sasuke, who just ignored her.

Naruto then turned to Hinata who then smiled an evil smile. Naruto looked at her in confusion until she pointed to the scoreboard. Naruto turned and smiled slightly, as it read, 'Uzumaki Hinata' verses 'Haruno Sakura'. "I would wish you luck, but you don't need it, love," he said, as she smiled and then jumped down to the arena floor.

Sakura smiled and moved down to the arena floor via the stairs. She smiled at Hinata and then said, "Looks like I get to beat you, like Ami did in the Academy," she said coldly.

Hinata had her head tilted down so that her bangs concealed her eyes. Sakura had missed that, as she spoke Hinata had activated her Byakugan. "Eighty one strikes will be all it will take to win this match, and you won't even lay a hand on me," Hinata replied coldly, as her voice send a shiver down Sakura's spine.

"You were weak before and you still are," Sakura replied in an attempt to regain control.

"Let's do this," Hinata said, as she slid into her Juuken stance, and Sakura got into the academy stance.

"Begin," Genma said, as he backed away from the combatants.

Sakura ran forward and did a few hand signs. She then said, "Clone Jutsu," as two more of her appeared.

Naruto, Haku, and Neji shook their heads and all thought the same thing, 'Idiot. Those are illusions and the Byakugan can see through illusions.'

All three Sakura's threw a right hand punch at Hinata, as she slid to the right through one of the Sakura's. She then tapped Sakura's left wrist. Sakura cringed and then held her hand for a moment. "That is one. One hit for each time you beat Naruto-kun. You shall pay for what you did to him," she explained coldly.

Sakura shook the hand to try to relieve the numbness in her hand and wrist. She then charged Hinata again. This time Hinata tapped Sakura's left elbow and shoulder. Sakura then felt both areas go numb.

Neji watched with a smirk. 'She is still weak, but that one is even weaker. She is just toying with her. Why won't she just get it over with?' he asked himself.

Hinata had hit Sakura fifteen more times, all moving out from the left side of Sakura. Sakura cringed at the last hit, as the chakra point near her left breast was hit and caused extra pain from the effected nerve cluster in the area. "What are you doing to me bitch?" Sakura asked in a seething voice.

"Kiba-kun will be most offended for you referring to me as such, but to answer your question. I would refer to the clans of Konoha. What are the Hyuuga known for?" Hinata asked with a smirk, as she raised her head enough to look Sakura in the eyes.

Sakura gasped, as she saw the veins next to Hinata's eyes bulged and her eyes more intense than she had ever seen before. She quietly whispered, "Byakugan…"

Hinata smiled, and said, "That's right. With these eyes I can see your chakra points and close them or open them at my will."

Sakura pulled out some kunai and threw them at Hinata only to have them blocked by Hinata, as she charged Sakura. Hinata took a senbon out and threw it at Sakura, as she then did several hand seals, and said, "Senbon Shadow Clone Jutsu." The one senbon became fifty. Sakura pulled her hands in front of her face only to be hit by all the senbon. "Eighty hits," she said, as she walked over to the fallen girl and then tapped her on the head. "Eighty-one, and I win," she declared, as Genma checked Sakura's pulse only to find it strong.

"Winner by knockout, Uzumaki Hinata," Genma declared, as medics took Sakura to the infirmary.

Sasuke still nursing a sore neck, said, "She was weak and deserved to lose."

Naruto looked at Kakashi who continued to read his book. "No wonder your team is so screwed up," he said under his breath.

Kakashi looked at Naruto and asked, "Did you say something?"

Naruto turned to Kakashi and wore a confused look on his face. "Huh?" he replied.

Kakashi turned back to his book and continued to read, but also said, "Sasuke, she is your teammate and should have your support. She did well against a superior opponent. That jutsu is forbidden for a reason, I wonder where she got it from."

Ino wore a worried look, as Sakura was taken from the arena. 'Man, Hinata really hurt her. How much has she improved?' she asked herself, but was drawn to Naruto's pointing finger. She looked up at the scoreboard in horror, as it displayed 'Momochi Haku' versus 'Yamanaka Ino'.

"Will the participants please come down?" Genma asked.

Haku 'Body Flickered' down to the arena floor and then waited for Ino to come down. Ino had a bad feeling that only got more intense, as she saw the look upon Haku's face. "Haku-san, are you angry with me?" Ino asked, as she took her position.

Haku's face contorted in rage, as she said "Your family assaulted Naruto-kun and since the person who did this has not been brought to justice, I feel that you will have to take some of that anger for them."

Ino stepped back in fear, as she saw the cold fire in Haku's eyes. This wasn't just anger at a friend being hurt. No, it was at a loved one being hurt. "Look I'm sorry if one of my family hurt Naruto-kun, but I didn't do it and were supposed to be friends," Ino said in protest.

Haku opened a bottle of water and threw it at Ino. Ino quickly pulled out a kunai and sliced it in half, not noticing the water soaking her clothes. Suddenly she began to feel very cold.

"Begin!" Genma said, as he backed away.

Haku moved through several single handed seals and said, "Frozen Body Jutsu."

Ino felt her clothes harden and she only was able to move her arms, but even that was limited.

Haku was instantly beside her, and whispered, "Do you know what an anti-rape seal is, Ino-chan?" Haku said in a cold voice.

Ino nodded, and quietly replied, "It is a seal that will cause a rapist to not be happy as it destroys his testicles. Why?"

"Because, your aunt put it on Naruto-kun, several years ago, more than likely to protect you from being impregnated by him. That is if you ever would find eyes for him. With said seal, he could have died, had he even tried to masturbate and I would have lost someone with whom I'm in love," Haku said into Ino's ear.

"You're in love with Naruto?" she asked. Suddenly it hit her, 'Haku loves Naruto and my aunt put a seal on his… oh my. No, Haku is a girl and in love with Naruto.'

"Ah I see it in your eyes that you have figured out what the truth is," Haku said, as she turned and walked away. "Don't worry, because you're my friend, I won't kill you. But as a shinobi I must kill my emotions, and cause you to yield, shatter!" she proclaimed, as Ino's clothes broke off of her body and fell to pieces on the floor. Ino immediately covered her chest. "Do you yield?" she asked, Ino just nodded. Haku opened her battle kimono, pulled it off and set it on Ino's shoulders.

Ino looked up and saw her wearing a standard shinobi shirt and paints in blue, but also noticed her hips and breasts. She took the kimono and wrapped around herself. "I yield…" she quietly said, as she and Haku walked to the infirmary.

"Now you understand my rage and why I did what I did?" Haku asked, as she wrapped her arm around Ino and helped her out of the arena, and Ino could only nod.

"So Naruto-kun isn't playing both sides of the field, as I had suspected," Sai said rhetorically.

The next match was a guy from Kumo named Raijin and a guy from Iwa named Jaken. The match was fairly one-sided with Raijin using lighting jutsu to break Jaken's Earth jutsu. In the end Jaken was a quivering mass of jello being taken away to the infirmary. Haku came back without her kimono, but was in time to see Raijin's victory. Haku watched, as most of the male eyes watched her walk up to Naruto and stand next to him.

The next match was Inuzuka Kiba versus Hyuuga Neji. Kiba and Akamaru both went down to the arena and waited for Neji to arrive. Neji was about to speak when Kiba held up his hand and said, "Look I know you're going to spout some crap about destiny, so save it. We both know more than likely you're going to win, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to roll over or leave with my tail between my legs. So save your derogatory speeches for someone who cares."

Neji was incensed at the attitude of this boy, as he had just taken one of his most effective ways of dealing with an opponent and pushed it aside. He sighed and said, "Fine, let us get this mockery of a battle over with so that I can go back to watching the losers win against more pathetic losers."

Kiba smiled and then charged. Neji quickly blocked a clawed fist thrown at his face. Kiba kept a watch to make sure to notice if Neji was using his Juken attacks or only defending. After a few more punches he noticed a smile cross Neji's face and instead of taking the hit he jumped forward past Neji, surprising the Hyuuga and making him miss the hit.

"You have good evasion for a mutt," Neji said in a derogatory tone.

Kiba smiled at Neji, as Akamaru jumped on his back. "Thanks Neji-kun… Akamaru are you ready?" he asked, as he received a bark in return. "'Man-Beast Clone' jutsu," he exclaimed, as Akamaru changed into a copy of Kiba, and he said, "Let's get him Akamaru!"

Neji returned to a ready stance and awaited the dog users attack.

Kiba and Akamaru both ran and then jumped, as he exclaimed, "Fang over fang attack!" Both copies of Kiba began to spin, as they approached Neji and formed whirling tornados of destruction.

Neji squinted and then flipped over the spinning tornados, and jabbed at one of the tornados. Both hit the ground. One Kiba skidded to a halt on his feet while the other skidded along the floor in a heap, only to be covered in smoke, as it turned back to Akamaru and began to slowly breathe in labored breaths. "Pathetic. Is that the best you can do loser?" Neji asked in contempt.

Kiba took a quick survey of Akamaru to determine that he was in no immediate danger. He then pulled out a couple of smoke balls and threw them at Neji. Kiba then ran at Neji and performed the 'Fang over fang' attack again by himself. Neji noticed that there was an irritant in the smoke that caused him to have to turn off his Byakugan for a second to rub his eyes so that he could reengage it again. He found that it was all that Kiba needed to slam into him and send him flying.

Neji wiped the blood from his lip and slowly stood up. "You were lucky, dog boy," he exclaimed.

"Luck had nothing to do with it, and like I said, I'm not letting you off so easily. If you screw up, I win. So I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. While you have everything to lose, also working with a Hyuuga has helped me be able to fight with and against them," Kiba explained, as he again threw more smoke balls and charged Neji.

Neji was prepared this time for the attack and sidestepped it while he hit several chakra points on Kiba. Kiba skidded to a stop near the wall. He looked up and moved to the wall with both his legs hurting and not being able to move them. He then propped himself up on the wall and smiled. "You win Neji, I just hope you understand that not everyone will be so nice to you," Kiba said, as he showed a kunai wrapped with an explosive tag. He then continued, "I could have thrown this along with the smoke bombs. I hope you understand that Nijiko asked me not to injure you too badly, as she worries about your fatalistic attitude."

Neji scoffed at the Inuzuka and moved over to glare at the boy only to hear Genma speak, "Winner Hyuuga Neji." He looked up at the board, as the medics removed Kiba and looked at Neji. "The next match will be Fu from Waterfall village versus Sai from the Leaf. Will both combatants please come down to the arena floor?"

Fu walked down the stair with her silken pack strapped to her back. Sai jumped down to the arena floor.

Sai smiled at Fu and then said, "It is said that you should insult your opponents to throw off their balance and make it easier for victory. So beautiful, let's fight."

Everyone looked at Sai as if he were an idiot. Fu smirked at the comment and then opened a bottle of water and poured it on the floor. She then did it to a second.

"What is the water for?" Sai asked.

"You'll see," Fu replied with a smirk.

"Begin," Genma exclaimed, as he jumped away.

Sai quickly pulled out a scroll and unfurled it. He then dipped his pen in an ink well at the base of the scroll and began to draw a lion on the paper.

Fu made several hand seals and said, "Water style: Water spikes!" Suddenly the water on the ground sprang from the ground and headed towards Sai.

"Beast Imitation jutsu," Sai exclaimed, as the lions leapt from the scroll only to become the size of real lions and then charged at Fu. The lions were cut down by the water jutsu. Sai threw several kunai at Fu who just dodged the thrown weapons.

Fu did several more hand seals and said, "Water style: Water Bullet." She then spit out several fist size water projectiles. Sai was able to avoid the first three only to be hit by the fourth.

Sai slowly stood up and then charged Fu. Sai cocked back his fist only to be hit and slammed into the wall by a hit from Fu. He slumped, as he fell from the indentation in the wall. "Guess I hit him too hard," Fu exclaimed.

Genma approached Sai and checked his vital. Satisfied that he would live, he said, "As her opponent is unable to continue, Fu is the winner."

"I knew I was on a team of losers," Sasuke exclaimed.

"The next match will be between Uzumaki Naruto and Akadou Yoroi. Will both the combatants please come down to the arena?" Genma asked.

Naruto jumped down only to slip when he hit the ground. Most people laughed, as Naruto dusted himself off. He smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that," he said to Genma who just nodded.

Yoroi laughed and then said, "This should be a quick match if you're not coordinated enough to make that jump."

Naruto shrugged and took a ready stance.

Genma took this, as him being ready, so he said, "Begin."

Yoroi did several hand seals and his right hand began to glow.

Naruto also did some hand seals, but then grimaced, as he started to perform them again, but only slower. Yoroi reached Naruto and then slammed his hand onto Naruto's chest. He began to chuckle at this. "Do you feel it? Your chakra slipping away, as that is my ability," Yoroi explained.

Naruto looked at him, as if he were crazy. "You know you just screwed up, don't you?" he asked, as he only felt a small pull on his chakra. "Your ability is like a small leak in a dam, now for the jutsu I was going to do. Wind style: Drilling air bullet!" Naruto took a deep breath and blew it out at Yoroi who tried to jump out of the way, but was hit in the left arm and sent spinning twenty feet away.

Yoroi shook his arm to try to mitigate the pain. "That hurt, so now we're going to really fight," he explained.

Naruto smiled and drew his sword. "Sword versus kunai, I think mine is bigger," Naruto teased, only to have Yoroi charge him. Naruto was blatant in his upwards swing, as his opponent blocked the strike only to find that the sword slipped off the kunai and Naruto did a return strike and cut the back of Yoroi's right leg. Yoroi began to hobble, as the blood flowed from his leg. "Do you yield?" Naruto asked.

Yoroi angered by the upstart kid charged at him. Naruto repeated the same maneuver, but this time he sliced into Yoroi's left leg. Naruto then struck the inside of each arm, as Yoroi dropped his kunai. He then raised the sword to Yoroi's throat and said, "You can no longer fight and either yield or I will finish you."

Genma saw Yoroi nod and said, "Winner is Uzumaki Naruto."

The medics quickly took Yoroi out of the arena, as Naruto made his way back up to his former position between Hinata and Haku. "Do you think that Kiba knocked some sense into Neji?" Naruto asked.

Hinata shook her head and said, "I'm not sure if he did, Neji-niisan is quite determined to keep his attitudes."

Nijiko also nodded at the answer. "Hinata-sama is right, I'm not sure that he is ready to accept others in his life just yet," she said sadly.

Genma looked up and announced the next match. "Would Kamizuru Majin and Aburame Shino please come down to the arena floor?" he asked, as Naruto noticed a furrowed brow on Shino who walked down slowly to the fighting area.

"So the impassive Aburame don't disappoint? I will get revenge for my clan for what you guys did to us all those years ago," Majin said in a loud boast.

Both combatants raised their arms and waited for Genma to speak. "Begin," he exclaimed, as he jumped away.

Immediately insects left the large sleeves of both combatants, bees from Majin and beetles from Shino. Both groups of insects collided. Naruto smirked, as he noticed a group of beetles moving along the floor towards Majin. "This should be interesting," he said, as he brought the attention of those around him to the wave of beetles. "Do feel sorry for Shino in that he is going to lose a lot of his colony to this fight. I say this fight could go either way. That is if Majin noticed the beetles at his feet, otherwise it will be over."

Majin screamed, as he moved his arms down to his legs to try to figure out what was going on and then noticed the stream of beetles going up his pant legs. "No! I can't believe I was fooled by you!" he exclaimed, as his eyes began to roll back into his head and then fell over. The bees turned course and left the beetles alone while going back to their master.

"Winner Aburame Shino," Genma exclaimed, as the medics took Majin from the arena. Shino wearily came up the stairs, as Naruto put a hand on him to steady him. "Good job Shino, but I hope you didn't lose too many insects," Naruto said compassionately.

Shino shook his head and replied, "No I only lost about a third of my colony, but I'm worried about Majin attempting to try this again. My trick worked on him this time. It won't work again," he explained.

---------

A/N: Good catch and I fixed a couple other problems, thanks again Goku90504.


	12. Chapter 12 Prelims conclude and training

Disclaimer: Ya'll know what this is dem for. So I'zas don't claim nuttin…

Chapter 12 – Prelims conclude and training…

"Akimichi Choji and Ami from Kumogakure, will you both please come down?" Genma asked.

Choji and a lithe blue haired female came down to the arena.

"You may begin," Genma declared, and then jumped back out of the way.

Choji and Ami both ran through hand seals, as Choji finished first he said, "Multi-size Jutsu."

Choji's body expanded to the size of a large ball, while his limbs and head entered the ball. It started to move forward, and collided with Ami just, as she completed her jutsu, raised her hands and said, "Static charge jutsu!"

There was cloud of smoke when Choji hit her hands. When the smoke cleared Choji was lying on top of Ami, both were not moving. Genma approached and inspected both, as they both groaned. "As both combatants are unable to continue, it is declared a draw. Medics please take care of them," he said, as the board scrolled through the remaining names.

The next names to appear were Nara Shikamaru and Abumi Zaku. "Will the next two combatants please come down?" Genma asked, as both headed down.

Shikamaru complained under his breath, as he walked down the stairs. "Why do I have to go through all of this? All I really wanted was to be an average shinobi, with an average life, settle down with a nice wife and have two kids, one boy and a one girl," he said quietly.

"You will die at my hands Konoha scum!" Zaku proclaimed.

Shikamaru tilted his head and glared at Zaku. "Why do you have to be so loud, you're as bad as Kiba or Naruto," he said in an annoyed droll.

"I'll kill you, and then get even with the guy who did this to my arms," Zaku exclaimed.

"How are you going to fight with both your arms in slings? And I see you haven't taken off your sandals, so I can't expect an attack from your feet. Or are you going to yak me to death? Ino is worse than you any day, so I think that I will be able to survive your vicious attack of words," Shikamaru explained, as several in the audience began to laugh.

'You're thinking of something aren't you Shika?' Naruto thought, since he was watching carefully.

"What is it Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.

"He's up to something, and that Zaku guy isn't as hurt, as he appears," Naruto said confidently.

"Right loser, I broke his arms and can do the same thing to you," Sasuke said in an arrogant tone.

"Did you hear something?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

Kakashi looked up from his book and said, "You're getting better Naruto."

"This coming from the guy who let his student break all the rules," Naruto retorted.

"That is true, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon a comrade are worse than scum," Kakashi said.

"So abandoning me to bleed out all over the training field shows that you're just at the scum level, how?" Naruto asked, as Shikamaru jumped to his right to miss being hit by a wind jutsu coming from Zaku's not so injured right arm.

"I had to defend my student before I could help you, Hinata there was quite determined to kill Sasuke," Kakashi explained.

"And when the ANBU came you left me to their tender mercy… worse than scum…" Naruto retorted angrily.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and returned to reading, as Sasuke smirked. "At least you got your sword back," Kakashi said in an unworried tone.

"I have you now!" Zaku yelled, as he pulled his other arm out of its sling. He then pointed it at Shikamaru who just smirked.

"Shadow possession jutsu success…" Shikamaru said, as Naruto smirked.

"Now what are you going to do Shika if he actually attacks you?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

"Slicing Air blast!" Zaku yelled, as he grinned from ear to ear, but he didn't notice Shikamaru imitating his stance and position with outstretched arms.

"This isn't good," Shikamaru exclaimed, as he pushed his outstretched arms down towards his legs.

Zaku's eyes went wide, as he realized that his opponent now had control of his arms and now his tubes were pointed right at his own legs. He had already started the jutsu and could only lessen the damage he was going to receive. The winds hit his legs and blew holes into his flesh. He felt the layers of skin being ripped off of his legs, as he attempted to release the jutsu. He screamed in pain, as Shikamaru released his own jutsu letting Zaku fall to the floor writhing in pain.

"Since Zaku is no longer able to battle Shikamaru is the winner," Genma said, as he motioned for the medics to gather Zaku and administer aid.

Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and walked back up the stairs. He stopped next to Naruto and asked, "So how did I do?"

"You had him really going for a little bit there, but I knew you had him the whole time. No one's, as smart as you," Naruto said happily.

"Thanks for the confidence, Naruto," Shikamaru replied. He then looked down at the arena and continued, "Bet you the girl from Sound loses to the girl from Waterfall."

"Nope, won't take that bet, as I noticed she had a senbon with a bell on it. She is a genjutsu type and the girl from Waterfall is a water user. Too bad for her," Naruto said, as he pointed to the six water skins on the female from Waterfall.

Kin tried to throw her senbon only to have it captured in a wall of water and then sent back at her quickly by Takiko. Kin was pinned to the wall and passed out from nearly drowning, Naruto noticed Sasuke watching with his Sharingan active. Naruto shook his head at this. 'Guess he wants to steal it all,' he thought to himself.

The next match was between Dosu, the last of the Sound genin, and a Kiri shinobi named Kimiko. Those that watched the fight were impressed that the Kiri shinobi could summon so much water from the air, but it ended when Dosu used his 'Melody Arm' to disorient Kimiko and defeat her quickly.

The next match was an interesting matchup between Gaara of the dessert and an Iwa shinobi named Takashi. The match started with Gaara's sand defended against Takashi's rock storm attack, which would pull stones from the floor and send them at an opponent. Takashi then used an 'Earth clone' to help him with his attacks. This helped to a degree, as he was strong physically and could punch through the sand barrier. Gaara had finally gotten angry and surrounded Takashi with sand. "Sand Coffin," he exclaimed, as the sand fully enveloped Takashi. Several people watched in awe, as Gaara's next words were said, "Rain of blood." The sand suddenly compacted, but Gaara's grin turned into a frown, as there was no blood squirting out of the sand.

"What happened? There is always some blood when he does that," Kankuro said in a surprised tone.

Suddenly Gaara was pulled down to the point where only his head was above the ground. "Earth Style: Inner decapitation," Takashi exclaimed, as he slowly rose from the ground. He then threw a kunai near Gaara. "Surrender and I won't kill you."

Gaara smile became maniacal. The Kunai began to spark and then exploded. Gaara wore a surprised look on his face, but then his face lost color and turned to sand. Sand suddenly surrounded Takashi's right arm and Gaara said, "Sand Burial."

The sand began to contract only to hit a barrier. "It won't work Gaara, I have stone armor. I figured you would eventually get a hold of me and I didn't want to be injured too severely. Proctor, I give up," Takashi said in an even tone.

"The winner is Gaara," Genma said, as Takashi tried to extract his arm from the sand.

"Let go of me already! You won!" Takashi exclaimed.

"The match is over Gaara, you must let him go," Genma ordered.

"Mother wants your blood," Gaara said threateningly, as Baki appeared next to Gaara. Gaara looked at him and he shook his head. He then felt an incredible amount of killing intent coming from the balcony. He looked up and saw something that actually frightened him, the boy Uzumaki Naruto wore a grim visage. The thing that scared him was that Shikaku was suddenly silent and Naruto's eyes were red with slits for pupils. The sand receded and went back into the gourd on his back. Baki and Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand.

The next match was certainly a mismatch with Temari of the Dessert versus Kosui of Kiri. Temari would just continue to throw wind jutsu at Kosui, until she finally gave up. After that was the match between Tsurugi Misumi of Konoha and Fugu from Kiri. The funny part at least in Naruto's opinion was that Misumi had wrapped himself around Fugu not knowing that the jutsu that Fugu was preparing was a water bomb. The jutsu went off and knocked them both out. Naruto was up on the balcony laughing, as Hinata and Haku giggled, but they were more able to control their emotions than Naruto.

Rock Lee got his chance to participate only to knock out Taro from Waterfall. Lee's speed ended the match quicker than any other match and he actually apologized for hurting the boy. Shino and Kiba's teammate Nijiko was paired against Isas from the rain village, it was quite apparent that Nijiko held the experience edge and quickly beat Isas. Next was a pair of Rain shinobi who used 'Water Bullet' jutsu to knock each other out. The final match was between Kankuro and Tenten. While Tenten could hit Kankuro's doll she missed a senbon coated with a sleeping poison and thus concluded the preliminaries.

Sarutobi stepped forward and asked those who had won to come down and draw lots. The ended matches were Hinata versus Neji, Haku versus Shikamaru, Shino versus Kankuro, Dosu versus Takiko, Naruto versus Temari, Fu versus Rock Lee, Sasuke versus Gaara, and finally Nijiko versus Raijin. With the matches decided Sarutobi explained the guidelines and rules for the third part of the exam.

"Now since you know who you're fighting, we will give you a month to prepare for your fights. Know this that there will be visiting dignitaries from the various nations and even several customers. How you perform will be both a test of you becoming a chuunin and how your respective village will show its power. You may advance to chuunin by losing a fight or conversely you may not become a chuunin if you will all of your fights. There will be people there to grade your abilities, so that it can be determined if you should become chuunin or not. Also a reminder, you can become a chuunin without winning your first match. Now we have your matches and who you're going to fight, so you have a month to train to get ready for your opponents. The reason we are giving you a month is again because of the dignitaries who will take time to come here and so that you can learn more, because right now those here know most if not all of your tricks and it would not be good for you to go into battle having your opponent knowing that much about you. Good luck," he said, as the gathering dispersed.

---------

The trio met up with Kurenai and headed out of the forest. The approached their home to see two figures standing at the front door. One was an ANBU and the other was Zabuza in cuffs. "Uzumaki Naruto, Yuuhi Kurenai, I'm leaving this man in your custody. He must be with either of you at all times, unless you have a valid reason for his absence and have someone of trust watching over him," the ferret masked ANBU explained.

Kurenai and Naruto nodded. "Thank you very much. We will make sure he stays out of trouble," she said in an assuring tone.

Naruto waited until the ANBU was gone before launching into Zabuza and hugging him. "I missed you sensei!" he exclaimed.

Haku followed suit, but in a more sedate way, as she only hugged him and said, "I missed you father."

Hinata bowed and opened the door. "The spare bedroom is ready for you, sensei," she explained.

Zabuza nodded and entered the apartment followed by the others. Just as the door was nearly closed there was a knock. Naruto opened the door and Anko was there. Naruto bowed and showed her into the apartment. They all sat down and began to talk.

"Good job gaki, as you all made it into the finals," Anko explained.

"So you're earning your keep, good," Zabuza said happily, but then asked, "You haven't given me grandchildren yet, have you?"

Naruto paled and then passed out, as both girls blushed, but shook their heads. Kurenai was simply annoyed at the question, but Anko was licking her lips at Zabuza. "No, Zabuza. They haven't engaged in that yet, so far as I know. Also Tsunade-sama wanted to talk to you. Speaking of which, she should be here," Kurenai said. The front door opened and three people entered the room.

"Yo!" Jiraiya said happily. He took a seat at the table and looked out into the living room. Shizune took a seat next to Kurenai and Tsunade took a seat next to Hinata.

They waited until Naruto woke up, which took a few minutes, but was entertaining none the less, as Haku and Hinata both brushed his whisker marks, making him almost purr.

Tsunade saw that Naruto was up and started by saying, "I want all three of you to make chuunin. I've seen who you're up against and all of you have hard opponents. Hinata, you have your cousin, who is thought of a prodigy. He will not be easy to beat, but I think we can find some ways to either slow him down or possibly even defeat him. That is if you're willing to take some extreme measures in training."

Hinata nodded, as Tsunade turned to Haku and said, "You're opponent is a Nara, while not that strong in jutsu or physically, they are great strategists. He will more than likely make chuunin even if he gives up while fighting you. We have to work with your strengths, so again I think I know how you can win against him. Are you willing to follow some hard training?"

Haku nodded, as Tsunade finally turned to Naruto. He noticed tears forming in her eyes, but could not figure out what it was. "What's wrong obasan?" he asked with a concern laced in his voice.

"There are two issues we need to discuss. First is your training," Tsunade said with a trembling voice. Then sighed and then continued, "You're up against the Kazekage's daughter and she is a strong wind user. I'm going to leave some of your training to the pervert over there." She pointed at Jiraiya and then continued, "But you will come to me for chakra control lessons, Zabuza for Water jutsu lessons, and finally a friend for other lessons."

He nodded, as he noticed a tear fall down her face. He was concerned, but wanted to let her finish what she had to say. "I'm torn between two possibilities. Jiraiya and I are at odds right now. We both want you to sign a summoning contract, but we're not sure which one. If we could do both we would and then we could figure which of your lovely brides-to-be would sign which contract."

Naruto nodded his understanding of her dilemma. "There is more isn't there obaasan (aunt)?" he asked.

Tsunade wiped the tears from her cheeks, as Hinata handed her a tissue. "Thank you, Hinata-chan," she said. She sighed several times before she continued, "Naru… You're… I mean…" She shuddered out, as she seemed not to know where to start.

"Would you like me to explain, shishou (master)?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade nodded, as she took more tissues and blew her nose rather loudly.

Shizune took a deep breath and sighed. "Naruto-kun, what she is trying to say is several things all wrapped up into one. Firstly, she is sorry," Shizune raised her hand to forestall a question and then continued, "I will explain, as I go. Secondly she IS your grandmother. Thirdly Jiraiya IS your grandfather. He is sorry too, by the way." Jiraiya sneered at Shizune, but nodded. "They are both sorry for not being there for your childhood and ask for your forgiveness."

Naruto looked like a fish out of water, with his mouth opening and closing, but no sound coming out. Tears began to roll down from his eyes, but his fists were clenched.

"So the gaki is from good stock," Zabuza teased.

"Youfu (adopted father), that isn't nice," Haku said in an annoyed tone. Zabuza put his hands up in defeat, as the girls rubbed Naruto's back to try to get him to calm down.

Anko whistled at the interaction. "So the gaki is actually really important. How do I sign up?" she asked in a seductive tone.

"You could always marry him," Kurenai said, as she pointed at Zabuza, who wore a look of a deer caught in headlights, with his eyes wide. Anko then wore a predatory grin and licked her lips.

Naruto attempted to stand only to fall back down on the couch. Hinata pulled him into her shoulder, as Naruto began to sob uncontrollably. "Its okay, Naruto-kun. We're here for you," Hinata said in a soothing tone.

Haku turned to Tsunade and looked at her. "So you're saying that Naruto-kun is your grandson, but you have had little to do with him for the past thirteen or so years?" she asked angrily.

Tsunade nodded, but wore an equally angry look on her face. "Sensei played politics with my grandson and those in this village have done me and mostly Naru-chan a great disservice. I know I ran from the village when the war ended. I knew there was a possibility that Minato was my son and I knew that something could have gone wrong when the Kyuubi attacked. Had I been here Kushina and Hana might still be alive," she explained. She then turned to Naruto and asked, "Please forgive me for not doing the right thing, Naru-chan. Please forgive a hurt, blind, old lady for not coming home when she should have."

Naruto turned to her with puffy bloodshot eyes and said, "Do you love me?"

Tsunade nodded. "I would love you, even if you weren't my grandson. I've come to appreciate you for who you are in the last few days and weeks. You are very special to me. That you're my grandson is just icing on the cake. So can you ever forgive me?" she asked, hoping for a positive answer, but expecting the worst.

Naruto slowly left the embrace of Hinata and stood, unsteadily he moved around Hinata to stand in front of Tsunade. She looked up at him with fear and hope in her eyes. The tears continued to run down both of their faces, then suddenly the couch was over turned by Naruto jumping at Tsunade. He took the whole couch and all three women over, with his embrace of Tsunade. He then whispered, "Yes… yes… yes… I forgive you, obaasan." He hugged her for all he was worth.

Not a dry eye was left in the house. Jiraiya stood and pushed the couch back to the upright position, but that didn't break the embrace between Naruto and Tsunade.

There was a knock at the door and Jiraiya walked to the door to answer. A few observed him scowl deeply before he said, "What do you want?"

"Is that how you treat your old sensei?" Sarutobi asked.

"It is when I find out how my godson and grandson are treated," he answered angrily.

"So you found out?" Sarutobi asked with a mirthful tone.

"Enter…" Naruto said coldly.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, I'm here to congratulate you on successfully completing the second part of your exam. I'm sure Kurenai-chan and Zabuza-san will be able to help in training all three of you for the third part of the exams. I'm sorry to hear that your fiancés might have to fight each other in the finals," Sarutobi said in a sorrowful tone.

"Why are you here, I'm sure you don't go and congratulate all the finalists," Naruto said.

"Yes… yes, you're right. I don't do it often. It's just that your team is the only solid team to make it to the finals. I'm here to compliment all three of you, along with Kurenai and Zabuza for their training and your hard work," Sarutobi said. His demeanor became a little less jovial, as he then continued, "The council isn't pleased with your little stunt a couple weeks ago, Naruto-kun. Haruno-san is pushing to have you exiled for that little stunt."

Naruto scowled at this comment. "Like I care, they all can go ahead and banish me for all I care. I could always just go to wave. Also how would you feel if the other countries found out that Konoha's jinchuuriki, son of the Yondaime, great-great-grandson of the Shodaime, and great-great-grandnephew of the Nindaime was banished for something he didn't do? Or better yet, how about if we retire and leave the village, I'm sure another village would love to have several bloodlines, such as Ice, Byakugan, Regeneration, and Wood," he said in a scathing tone.

"No need for threats, Naruto-kun. We're all friends here," Sarutobi said in a reassuring tone.

"Really? Then why were the Yondaime's wishes not followed? My own father who is revered as a god, but his son is the pariah of the village hidden in the leaves. Now I find out that you wouldn't do anything against those who murdered my family. How can I trust you?" Naruto asked.

"We have found the guilty parties," Sarutobi exclaimed.

"A little late, and now I find out you could have called both my grandparents back. Instead what do you do? You allow me to be persecuted by my own village. You preach about the will of fire, but what is there in this village that I should protect? You have done some in an attempt get back in my good graces, but you were truly neglectful. I could have been a strong shinobi by now, but you allowed my schooling to be tampered with, along with allowing people to put seals on me. Do you realize that those people could have released the Kyuubi back into the village, and they would have blamed me? When it would have been their fault, not mine!" Naruto yelled at the Hokage.

"That is about enough out of you genin," Sarutobi said, as he released some killing intent.

Naruto and the others began to laugh. "Now you want to impress me with your authority? Where did your backbone go when you allowed me to be assaulted?" he asked in a hurt tone.

"Yes sensei, why did you allow it to happen?" Jiraiya asked.

"Your father should have allowed me to do the sealing. He would have been better able to shield you, where I couldn't. I live by politics now, instead of jutsu. A deal here, a deal there, will bring more peace than all out aggression," Sarutobi explained.

"So you allow some individuals to be hurt or killed, while letting others get away with said acts?" Jiraiya asked.

"If you look at it like that, then, yes," Sarutobi answered.

"Let me get this straight… You allow Orochimaru to get away with multiple murders and experimenting on the general population with only a slap on the wrist. While heros like Naruto, Kushina and Hana are all punished for doing nothing wrong," Tsunade said in an angry tone.

"Orochimaru got away, because I was too slow at the time," Sarutobi rebutted.

"The Uchiha clan owes Naruto for what they have done. Between Sasuke and his father, Fugaku, they have hurt Naruto severely," Jiraiya said without emotion.

"Along with Sasuke being allowed to enter the chuunin exams, so soon after assaulting a fellow Konoha shinobi, what are you thinking? Has there been any compensation to Naruto and Haku yet?" Tsunade asked.

Sarutobi shook his head. "The council is trying to make that a civil matter, but Sasuke was given a psychological evaluation and he is said to be fine," Sarutobi said in an attempt to reassure the group.

"Right, and Haku-chan is good with Fire jutsu…" Naruto replied, as the others chuckled or giggled at Naruto's barb at the Uchiha boy.

"Under clan law, Sasuke nearly started a clan war. You know that Naruto, Jiraiya or I would be able kill him at any time if we so decide for what he has done. He tried to murder him for Kami's sake. I swear if you give him any leeway in the finals, such as promoting him just for him having a doujutsu, then I will personally rip his eyes out and sterilize the bastard," Tsunade angrily exclaimed, as Naruto laughed out loud, while Haku and Hinata both giggled deviously.

"That wouldn't be wise, as Sasuke has quite a few followers in the council and the Daimyo himself, as supporters," Sarutobi exclaimed.

"Well then, if this village wants to reward the Uchiha, then the Senju will take it too him in the finals. Naruto, you have my permission to remove one or more of his testicles if he survives that Gaara boy, that is," Tsunade said with a sinister grin.

"Not likely. He's a jinchuuriki too. I think there are a few in the village right now. The girl from Waterfall, Fu, Gaara, and that jounin sensei from cloud, but she seems to hide it better than the others. I'm glad that Zabuza sensei taught me to detect chakra signatures. Oh and by the way Orochimaru is in the village," Naruto said, as Sarutobi, Anko, Jiraiya and Tsunade froze.

"How do you know about that?" Sarutobi asked.

"I reported it when we got to the tower. He gave a nice hickey to Sasuke-chan," Naruto explained.

Anko pulled off her trench coat and bared her shoulder. Naruto saw a heaven seal on her shoulder. "Did it look like this?" she asked.

Naruto came closer and touched the seal mark and nodded. "Yes, but from what I saw it was almost able to take control of him to some extent. The chakra emanating from him was nearly, as evil as the Kyuubi chakra. So is it a mating mark, Anko-chan?" Naruto asked.

Anko raised an eyebrow and then she asked, "What do you mean a mating mark?"

Naruto moved into his room, and shuffling of papers was heard. He then returned with a scroll and handed it to Anko. "I found this in the library, and it shows a mark similar to yours, as the mark a demon would leave on its mate. I don't quite understand it, but here is the information I copied on it in hopes of figuring out how to break the caged bird seal. With the help of jiji there," he pointed at Jiraiya, and then continued, "We should be able to get it removed after the chuunin exams. Right jiji?"

Jiraiya chuckled, and replied, "You bet, we can do anything."

Anko blushed and then wore a longing look. She then asked, "Could you take mine off too?"

Naruto thought for a minute and then looked at Jiraiya, who just shrugged. "We could also to fix or remove yours after the chuunin exams. We would have to take some time to study it," Naruto replied in a reassured tone.

Anko immediately wrapped him into a hug. "Thank you, Naruto-kun," she exclaimed, as she pushed him into her ample cleavage.

Hinata and Haku scowled at Anko who only smiled slyly at the girls. She let Naruto go, as he then gasped for air.

"I will authorize both of you to try to remove Anko's little annoyance. Naruto-kun, I'm sorry for before, but I was doing what I thought was in the best interest of the village. Please understand that I couldn't be everywhere at the same time," Sarutobi said in an apologetic tone.

"You could have at least found someone trustworthy to take care of me or adopt me. You could have let Jiraiya know that my mother was in ill health. You could have let Tsunade, obaasan, know that my mother was ill. You could have pushed harder for the investigation of who killed her. You could have… you could have… you should have done all of those things. They were the right thing to do, not the path of least resistance. The Uchiha, Hyuuga, and Yamanaka clans all assaulted me. The head of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke's own father, thought that he could put a seal mark on me to impede my development. He was the head of the damn police forces. What type of man would do that to a young boy? Did he think that I was the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, as his lips quivered with his anxiety. Not sure if he should cry or scream. Right now he hated the village, most of all he hated Sasuke, for getting all the favors, getting all the shortcuts, in a word he was jealous, but he also was sad that the boy may not be redeemable at all.

Hinata and Haku felt that Naruto was uneasy and had moved to his side. Both grabbed an arm and began to rub his back. Naruto felt his feelings begin to steady, as his mind cleared. "Naruto-kun was wronged, the Hyuuga have already put in compensation. The Uchiha and Yamanaka haven't," Haku explained.

"That would explain how you treated your friend Ino, Haku-chan," Sarutobi said with a blush.

All the females in the room thought the same thing 'Pervert!' and scowled.

Jiraiya just shook his head and thought, 'You're not going to win back Naruto by acting like that.'

Naruto shook his head and said, "That was public embarrassment, so that Ino would understand what her family did to me. It was a personal message from her to Ino. Ino got the message and will be working with us to put right, what that bitch did to me," he explained angrily.

"Very well Naruto-kun, I will leave that in your hands," Sarutobi said.

"Oh, by the way, I'm adopting Naruto-kun, and if the council wants to stop me then they can meet me on either the battlefield or in the office of the Daimyo. I sent the paperwork directly to him. I didn't put in it that he was my grandson, but if I have too I will. Do you understand, while my loyalty is to this village, it is also to my family. If loyalty to the village is repaid the way Naruto-kun was treated then, this village doesn't deserve our loyalty. If it is just political wrangling, then fix it, as I will be in attendance to the council meetings, as the Senju member," she said with a stern look at Sarutobi. She then smiled at Naruto, and then continued, "We now have a clan of two and soon to be more." She then wrapped her arms around Haku, Hinata and Naruto.

Jiraiya then wrapped the group with his own arms. "I feel the same way you do hime. Even if we do not get together I will support whatever you and Naruto decide. I'll be there for both of you," he explained.

"So I might end up having three, rouge Sannin?" Sarutobi said in a joking tone.

"You might if things don't improve for Naruto-kun," Tsunade said with a warm smile.

"Very well, I will finally take my leave of you. Have a good day everyone," Sarutobi said, as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

"I bet Sasuke will be late to the third part of the exam and he will be given extra time to arrive," Naruto said in an annoyed tone.

"No way would I bet against that. Right now the village council let him off with attempted murder and kidnapping, with only a slap on the wrists," Tsunade said angrily.

"So what have we decided to be their training?" Zabuza asked.

"What are their strengths and their weaknesses?" Tsunade asked.

"Naruto, is weak in chakra control, but can push heavy jutsu out like there's no tomorrow. Haku is the most balanced and overall the strongest of the three. Hinata while weak in her chakra reserves has great control and has gotten good with her water jutsu. She is also working on a jutsu that could be used as a shield, using water. Naruto needs some Wind and Earth jutsu to complete his affinities. Haku could use some Wind jutsu to balance against her supply of Water and Ice jutsu. Hinata could use another jutsu or something else as a backup or trump card," Kurenai explained.

"So they have improved that much during the time I was away?" Zabuza asked.

Kurenai nodded and began to explain. "Naruto has mid genin level control with a Kage level reserve, Haku is balanced at high chuunin level with both. Hinata is at high genin level for chakra reserves and high chuunin level for control. Their arsenal has improved some, but not that much. We have refined those that they already know. Naruto and Haku both worked on their Wind affinity and can bring it out more quickly. We just need Naruto to be able to use his Earth affinity, so that he can do well enough in the chuunin exams to get the promotion. I want all of them to be promoted. So here's what we need to do…" she began to explain.

--------

Naruto held his sword hilt to steady himself with the sword tip stuck in the ground. He was very tired. "Man, Hayate-sensei, you're an even worse slave driver than Zabuza-sensei," he exclaimed.

"While Zabuza-san is an expert with a Zanbato, so he isn't quite as good with the smaller swords. You've come far in only a couple days, Naruto. Your mother has my thanks, and please forward my thanks to Tsunade-sama for healing my lungs," he said gratefully. "You do have some natural talent for the sword, but we will continue your training until lunch time. Then Jiraiya-sama will then be your trainer, as we will keep this program for the whole week. Tsunade-sama will then have you after dinner for chakra control training. I really feel sorry for you Naruto, because Tsunade-sama is the best medic out there and will drive you to exhaustion with her control exercises."

Naruto paled, as this was only his third day of training and Tsunade had pushed him with chakra control, water walking was nothing. His now mother, legally, was a real slave driver when it came to chakra control. You would think that she wanted him to become a medical ninja with her training methods. His schedule was mornings with Hayate, his afternoons were spent with Jiraiya and his evenings with Tsunade and Shizune. Naruto knew the girls schedules were similar rotations to his. Haku worked with Kurenai in the mornings, Tsunade in the afternoon and Zabuza in the evening. Hinata got Zabuza in the morning, Kurenai in the afternoon and Tsunade in the evening, she wasn't a morning person.

Naruto laughed, as he remembered the first afternoon.

(Flashback)…

Naruto, Haku and Hinata stood waiting for Jiraiya and Tsunade to show up. Suddenly two calls of 'Summoning jutsu!' were heard. A giant slug as large as the Hokage's tower, and a large orange toad with a jacket and a scar on his left eye appeared in the training ground.

"Hello Katsuyu," Tsunade said to the slug.

"**Greetings Lady Tsunade. What can I do for you?"** Katsuyu asked in response.

"**What do you want, you lecher, Jiraiya?"** Gamabunta asked angrily.

Jiraiya smirked at the reference. "Hey Gamabunta, we have a question for you and Katsuyu," he asked.

Both nodded, so Jiraiya proceeded. "This is Naruto and his prospective brides to be. We want to know if he can sign both contracts," he said, but raised his hand to forestall any questions. He then continued, "We know this is kind of unusual, but Naruto is OUR grandson and we want him to be able to use either of you in battle if needed. We also want to know if you will allow one of his brides to sign one of your contracts."

Gambunta lowered his face down to look at Naruto and then asked, **"Is he who I think he is?"**

Jiraiya nodded, and replied, "Yep, he's his son and my grandson."

"**So you and Jiraiya-san…"** Katsuyu asked, as Tsunade blushed and nodded. She then continued, **"Very well, I will allow it if Gamabunta will."**

"**As long as he isn't a lecher like you I'm not against it, but he will have to summon me personally for me to allow him to summon toads to battle," **Gamabunta replied.

Naruto walked forward and bowed. "Thank you Katsuyu-sama, and Gamabunta-sama for offering this most generous gift," he said with much conviction.

Gamabunta laughed at Naruto who appeared confused. **"I like this one, he has actual manners. Must come from his grandmother's side,"** he said with a wink at Tsunade, who just blushed.

Hinata stepped forward and bowed. "Actually Gamabunta-sama, it was Haku-chan and I who helped instruct him on manners. He was quite crass before he learned of our betrothal," she said with a blush, but continued, "But it was one of his endearing qualities. He just knows when to use manners now, where before he totally lacked them."

Naruto brushed his finger under his nose and asked coyly, "So you like it when I don't use my manners?"

Hinata blushed and nodded. "But not all the time, Naruto-kun," she explained.

Tsunade and Jiraiya both had the contracts out showed them how to sign them, with their name in blood in the next available area on the scroll. Naruto signed both, but would have to take the time to summon Gamabunta to actually use the toads in battle. Haku then signed the toad contract, while Hinata signed the slug contract.

After being told the hand seals for summoning the trio began to attempt to summon. Naruto dug deep down for a large pool of chakra and performed the seals and thought about toads. Much to everyone's surprise including Gamabunta Naruto summoned a large toad nearly the size of Gamabunta with two swords on his back. Haku was able to summon a toad the size of a man with arm guards. Hinata was able to summon a slug the size of a large wolf. All three were exhausted by this and were given the rest of the day off except for studying chakra control techniques. They were not going to use them, just read about them so they could use them the next day.

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The three had soaked in the bathtub for over an hour after going to the hot springs that evening. They could barely move from both chakra exhaustion and training. They had agreed not to discuss the finer points of their training, but did talk about generalities like what to expect the next day. They had a late snack and went to bed. Sleep quickly overtook the three genin.

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The next morning Naruto continued his kata for an hour with Hayate. They would eventually do some sparing and work on speed and control work.

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Hinata thought she had gotten the worse of the deal in getting training. She had Zabuza, and he worked on her water jutsu. He also helped her work on some surprises for both her teammates and of course for her cousin.

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Haku was taking her genjutsu lesson in stride, as she knew she had the easiest schedule of the three. Kurenai went into detailed descriptions of how to form and work genjutsu. Haku was pleasantly surprised when Kurenai helped her to create a genjutsu for a certain someone that she was actually still quite mad at.

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The afternoon training was different and still quite hard for the genin, as they moved to their next sensei. Naruto was introduced to a new attack by Jiraiya, while Hinata learned genjutsu from Kurenai and Haku was pushed to her limit by Tsunade in chakra control.

The evening training was very hard for Haku, as she had Zabuza to work with, while Naruto and Hinata worked with Tsunade and Shizune on chakra control. After the lesson Tsunade assembled the team and made an announcement.

"Naruto-kun, you are officially a Senju now. It took most of the morning, but I was able to adopt you, as my son," she said happily, but raised her hand and continued, "Yes we all know that you're actually my grandson, but we don't want them to know that just yet. So congratulations, Naruto Uzumaki-Senju, my son."

Tsunade hugged Naruto and kissed him on the forehead. Hinata and Haku followed suit, but kissed him on the lips for good measure. Naruto was happy and confused.

(End Flashback)…

All three genin met up at Ichiraku ramen, and proceeded to take in a high carbohydrate diet for their afternoon training. Naruto enjoyed this, as he still loved ramen. Haku and Hinata liked it, but also understood what it would take to replenish their energy reserves. It seemed that as soon as the ramen hit Naruto's stomach his energy level would increase. With an hour lunch break the three would talk and work on how they figured they should work on courting each other. Naruto didn't quite grasp all the concepts, but was willing to do what was needed for their unusual relationship to work and this pleased the girls to no end.

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Jiraiya was snickering, why you ask. He had just sent Sasuke packing with a huge lump on his head.

(Flashback)

Jiraiya was contemplating what to do with Naruto's training when an upstart appeared before him.

Sasuke stood before Jiraiya pointing at him with Kakashi standing with an annoyed look in his single evident eye. "You will help train me Jiraiya of the Sanin, for I am Sasuke Uchiha and it will be your privilege to do so," he exclaimed in an arrogant tone.

Kakashi rolled his single eye at this and said, "Sasuke, I don't really think that this is a good idea. Jiraiya-sama might not want to train you."

"Shut up Kakashi! And he will train me or I will get the council to force him too," Sasuke replied with venom in his voice.

"The council might be able to pull some of my strings, but if you want to go barking up this tree… be my guest, but I will not be responsible for what happens to you," Kakashi said angrily.

"So Uchiha, why should I train you?" Jiraiya asked, as he leaned back on the bench. He knew this might be entertaining.

"I am of the elite Uchiha clan and you will help me fulfill my purpose, to kill my brother," Sasuke said.

"Killing your brother is your problem, not mine…" Jiraiya said, but then pause and released a large amount of killing intent at the genin. He then continued, "But you will know your place genin. I am above jounin level, and am skilled enough to be a Kage in my own right. You trying to give me orders, it's like a civilian trying to order an assassin to kill some when their target is said civilian. It is laughable. The council can be damned for all I care. Now let's get to the reason I don't want to train you. First, you should request things from your betters, not order them. Secondly, you should treat your sensei like one and not some servant to be ordered around."

Jiraiya then stood and looked down at the cowering Uchiha. "Third, but not last, you attempted to murder my godson. Do you for one moment think that I would want to make someone who tried to kill my godson even more powerful than they are now? Right now I'm of the opinion of removing the Uchiha from the gene pool, or at least you from it. From what I hear, doing nothing would do the same thing, but would endanger others lives. So either get out of my sight or die where you stand," he said, as he thumped Sasuke on the head and then sat back down to wait for Naruto to arrive.

(End Flashback)

Jiraiya sat there and thought, 'You know letting the little shit live might be torture enough. If he does something then I can just seal his chakra. Then hime and I could beat him to a pulp, then hime could heal him and we could start all over again.' He chuckled at the thought.

Naruto finally arrived they began their training. Naruto seemed to have a new spark and wore a happy grin.

"So did she actually get them to allow it to happen?" Jiraiya asked, as Naruto nodded. "Great, now the emo-prick can be in even more trouble when I tell you that he came here demanding training. He thinks that having the council in his back pocket will sway me."

Naruto laughed, as he began to start his exercises for manipulating Earth chakra. "So how many reasons did you give him for saying no?"

Jiraiya chuckled, and replied, "Three, heck I even gave him a lump on the head for his troubles."

"Good, we can kill him after the exams, or at least you can take that hickey from Orochimaru off of him," Naruto said.

Jiraiya looked at him in surprise. "What hickey from teme? Oh yeah that one. How did it happen?" he asked.

"Well during the second portion of the exams I came upon Orochimaru and a guy named Kabuto. Orochimaru looked like a Grass genin, but had too much power, so my team held back and listened in on it. I told the old man about it and he thanked me, but I haven't heard anything since," Naruto explained.

"So sensei didn't come to me about checking the possible seal on the Uchiha, he might have thought that I might kill him after what he did to you and to be honest I forgot you mentioned it," Jiraiya said jovially.

"It would have gotten rid of the possible curse seal," Naruto said with a little too much mirth in his voice.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Now get back to work and we will have some surprises for the exams, so you can make chuunin," Jiraiya said with enthusiasm.

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A/N: Guess I scared off a lot of the readers… Oh well… Sorry for the dryness of the chapter. Hope you enjoyed this chapter...

Now to answer the reviews…

OnGuard: Huh? I'm not emphasizing Sasuke and gave him an easy win. So you figure either the match was set before hand or the match was one I just didn't want to write. I also wanted to get through the fights. I'm a novice martial artist, with experience in tai-chi and Greco-roman wrestling, so shoot me if I can't write a fight scene that I didn't want to write.

XPGamer: I responded in a PM, but I can say here that there will be changes to the final exams.

Dragon Noir: Naruto could care less how the Uchiha punk won other than the merciless treatment of his victims. I might go back and look at that… maybe not.

Leobelkin: Yes Naruto got his sword back, when the ANBU (Bear) handed him his sword. Sorry for all of you guys being confused by this.


	13. Chapter 13 The plot thickens

Disclaimer: I own not Naruto…

Hope you enjoy the chapter…

Chapter 13 – The plot thickens…

Two weeks before the chuunin exams it was announced by the council that Naruto was adopted by Tsunade and that he was now a member of the Senju family. This had mixed reactions from the village. The council had tried to stop or break the adoption, but they were stopped cold by both the Hokage and the Daimyo.

Naruto ignored the politics of what was going on in favor of training. Tsunade had her hands full at the council meetings, but having Jiraiya there helped out quite a bit. The council continued to question why she had adopted Naruto. Her response was that she 'had her reasons' and left it at that even when pushed by the Daimyo.

Training continued, but also changed for each of them. All were given basic medical knowledge. This was for two reasons. First it would allow them to heal any comrades that might be injured, and second, it helped in identifying where a blow would do the most damage. Naruto had also succeeded in summoning Gamabunta and Katsuyu. He only needed to imagine the species of summons he was going to summon to change between the two.

Naruto also had found himself with a problem, he had come to the Senju compound on his day off only to accidently find his 'mother' and his grandfather both naked on the couch in each other's arms. He had a good clue as to what had happened because of the plethora of empty sake bottles around and their naked condition. He pushed his slight revulsion aside and covered them in a blanket. He left a note and left for home. He knew what they had done, but didn't want to push the issue. They were adults anyways, so if he ended up with a sibling, aunt or uncle in reality, who was he to question them.

He crossed the Senju property only to find a couple chuunin moving through the area. He watched them carefully from the shadows of a tree and saw that they were headed towards Tsunade's house. He followed, wondering what was going on. The chuunin eventually made it to the back door and then proceeded to break in.

Naruto watched them carefully. They looked around to make sure that no one had seen them and then quietly broke the latch the back door and entered the building. Naruto fearing for his grandparents followed them inside. He found the intruders chuckling quietly above the sleeping Sannin. They pulled out kunai and got ready to drive them into the unsuspecting sleeping pair.

Naruto quickly pulled out a couple of senbon and threw them at the assailants. His aim was true and hit them in the shoulder near a nerve cluster, thus causing them to drop their kunai. Naruto then made three Shadow clones and all drew their swords and charged with a yell.

The chuunin may have been surprised by the sudden attack of four Naruto, but quickly recovered and drew a kunai each with their off hand. They were able to block the first swipe of Naruto's sword, but failed to block the clone's swipe, which took out their left leg. Naruto then proceeded to cut their left arm and thus disarm both assailants.

Tsunade and Jiraiya woke in a poor mood. Both had bad hangovers and being woken by clashing metal weapons was not a good thing. Naruto and his clones stood over the invaders while a couple new clones began to both tie them up and administer first aid.

"What the hell is going on here?" Tsunade asked, as she sat up and looked at Naruto.

Naruto blushed, but kept his wits about him. "Kaasan put some clothes on. He might like to see you naked, but it's not right for me to see you naked," he exclaimed.

Tsunade blushed, but then realized that there was a sheet that wasn't there when they had fallen asleep. She quickly wrapped it around herself and asked, "So did you put this sheet on us?"

Naruto nodded and replied, "Sure did, don't want my kaasan catching a cold, even if she seems to have a thing for my godfather. I also caught these two entering your house and attempting to kill both of you."

"The demon, he made us do it!" One of the chuunin exclaimed.

Naruto chuckled at this and asked, "So you're saying that I want my own mother dead? That is funny, seeing as I could have killed them both just now and them a little bit ago. So what is your next story?"

Jiraiya pulled on his boxers and smirked at the chuunin. Tsunade left the room with a dark expression that promised pain.

"It's your word against ours demon," the other chuunin explained.

Naruto rolled his eyes, as he bit his thumb and ran through several hand seals. "Summoning jutsu," he said. Two toads appeared, and he explained, "I want you two to go get the Hokage and Ibiki. My mother has intruders which are currently being detained and are now waiting to be questioned. I could do it myself, but I'm sure Ibiki would be mad at me for taking his work away from him."

Both toads left the house and headed towards their destination. Jiraiya was now dressed and glared at the two captives. "So why are two chuunin attempting to assassinate the Sannin of the Leaf?" he asked in a happy tone.

"You will never get us to answer your questions, traitor," the first said angrily.

Jiraiya laughed and then asked, "So how is Orochimaru-teme doing?"

Both men paled at the question.

Naruto smirked and then said, "So he wanted to get rid of his old teammates. Good plan, but poor execution. Too bad it wasn't Sasuke-chan who sent you."

Both looked at Naruto in confusion.

"Oh, you don't understand?" Jiraiya asked. Both men shook their heads, but then he explained, "You see, if Sasuke-chan had ordered this attack then we could just go straight after him and kill him without any care in the world. Clan wars are fun that way."

There was a knock the door, Jiraiya was about to get up when he heard Tsunade open the door and let the people in the house. Sarutobi, several ANBU and Ibiki accompanied her into the room.

"I see you captured a couple of annoyances. They aren't our chuunin, so Ibiki you can do whatever you deem necessary to get information out of them," Sarutobi explained.

The ANBU took the men away with Ibiki. "They are gifts from Orochimaru," Jiraiya explained. Ibiki and Sarutobi both nodded.

"So how do you want to do this?" Sarutobi asked.

"I want that teme's head on a pike, but what were your plans?" Tsunade replied.

"I was thinking that he might make a move during the final exams, either an attack to get Sasuke or a full out invasion. Either would hurt the village, and if he could get another village to help him it would be quite a while before we could recover. The Raikage also sent word that he 'won't' attend, but that only means that he knows something is up and will attend. He will want to protect his jinchuuriki, Nii Yugito. So I say we either mark you both as dead or have you both leave the village until the finals," Sarutobi explained. He then turned to Naruto and said, "Good job Naruto-kun, keep this up and you will most certainly make chuunin."

Naruto nodded, but also wore a scowl.

"Tsunade, I have a question for you and would like for you to consider this offer," Sarutobi said. He waited until Tsunade nodded before continuing, "After the exams, I'm thinking of retiring. I would like for you to take my place as Hokage. Now before you shoot it down completely, hear me out. I'm getting too old for this job and would like to make it up Naruto-kun over there. I can tell that he is either ready or nearly ready to be chuunin. If what I think is the case then he will be ready to take over your place on the council as the head of the Senju clan. This will be the ultimate slap in the face for those who have hurt Naruto-kun. I will personally see to it that Naruto-kun is made chuunin."

Naruto growled at this. "I don't want to be chuunin if I don't deserve it," he explained.

"You have several factions against you Naruto-kun, but there are also allies which will help you. Also with Sasuke away, I have gotten your reparations from the Uchiha clan. I'm sure that Sasuke-kun will not be happy. The civilian council opposed the monetary amount, but had no say in it when we went to a tribunal. Hiashi and Shikaku both found in favor of you. The Yamanaka also have sent that woman to prison and have offered you a smaller sum as reparations. Here are the documents for you to go over," Sarutobi said, as he handed Naruto a couple of scrolls.

"Now I will let you get back to cleaning house, Senju family," Sarutobi said, just before he used a Shunshin jutsu to leave.

Naruto looked at his grandparents and decided to ask, "You guys did what I think you did last night or early this morning didn't you?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya blushed, but both nodded.

Naruto smiled and asked with a huge smile on his face, "So if you have another kid, will it be my brother, sister, or my uncle, aunt?"

Tsunade blushed even deeper, but then put a finger on her chin. "For now it would be either your brother or sister, we can figure out the family planning later. You are currently considered the heir to the family, so their status wouldn't matter in that respect. That is if I actually get pregnant. I'm a little old to be getting pregnant, Naruto-chan," she explained.

Naruto smiled and replied, "Even if you're fifty, you're still young to me, Kaasan."

Tsunade smiled warmly and wiped tears from her eyes. She then embraced Naruto in a hug, and said, "I love you so much Naru-chan."

"You have two weeks left Naruto, so how are you going to spend them?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, the himes and I think we have the basics of our training down pat now. If you two want to go have a honeymoon, then be my guest. We should be ready for it. I have my chakra control up to about mid chuunin level and should finish that jutsu before the exams start. Hinata-chan says she has a big surprise for her Niisan and Haku-chan has a new jutsu that will surprise even Shika. I also have a plan to beat that Suna kunoichi, Temari. I do worry about Gaara. He seems a little unstable and might allow his Bijuu loose on the village if he doesn't get what he wants. Also it seems a little off that the Suna team hasn't become chuunin before this point. It's almost like they have been waiting to take this particular exam. Almost as if they were up too something…" Naruto said, but trailed off.

"Orochimaru might have a contact or be having Suna helping them if they decide to invade. Which village do you suspect Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well it isn't Taki, or Kumo, so it would either be Kiri, Ame, or Suna," he replied.

"Why wouldn't it be either Taki or Kumo? They both have brought a jinchuuriki into the village," Tsunade said.

Naruto put his hand to his chin and took a thinking pose. "Well, Yugito-san is well known for her abilities as a jinchuuriki and is a jounin sensei right now. Raijin-san seems to be actually interested in making chuunin so that takes them off the list and we know the Raikage is coming, but I think it is more to do with protecting Yugito-san and Raijin-san then to be the spearhead of an invasion. While the Byakugan is highlighted in this tournament, all are sealed. Also take into take into consideration that Sasuke has been marked by Orochimaru, we don't have much to worry about from Kumo. As for Taki, they have two in the finals including their jinchuuriki. She also seems to have made a friend of Shino-san and that wouldn't be logical to make a friend only to have to fight them in an invasion. My last point is the only large village that has a full team in the finals other than Konoha is Suna, so I would conclude that it was Suna that was going along with Orochimaru. Added to the fact that Gaara is more unstable than Sasuke-chan," he said with a huge amount of mirth in his voice.

Jiraiya and Tsunade both shared a smirk. "He does have several points. I can also add some information to the mix. Suna is suffering from bad relations with the Wind Daimyo," Jiraiya said with confidence.

"So we might be invaded by Sound and Suna during the exams? This could be interesting. We have three jinchuuriki and they have one. Even with both Sound and Sand, we have home field advantage. We also are defending, so they would have to be setting up preparations outside the village. The best time to attack would be during the actual third part of the exams," Tsunade explained.

"So even if the invasion failed it would give Konoha a bloody nose politically and if Suna did well then it would boost the relations with their Daimyo," Naruto said, explaining his thoughts out loud.

"Good, your mind is starting to think more strategically. So should I accept the offer?" Tsunade asked.

"Well… it would be nice to put the temes on the council in their place and you could do more for us and the village as Hokage then as head of the clan. My only concern is if you get pregnant from the pervert over there," Naruto explained, as he pointed with his thumb at Jiraiya.

"Hey, I'm right here you know," Jiraiya exclaimed.

"Why are we talking about me being pregnant?" Tsunade asked in an indignant tone.

"You smell different Kaasan. I don't know how to explain it, but you smell different," Naruto explained.

"Well, then we shall see in a few weeks if your nose can tell things that could of only happened last night," Tsunade said with a smirk. She then turned to Jiraiya and said, "And you can be interim Hokage while I'm near my term to give birth and for a little while after."

"Will I still get to do my research?" Jiraiya asked, almost sulking.

"You will take responsibility for any children we might have from this point forward. That is if you ever want to be with this woman ever again," Tsunade explained.

"Okay… I'll look, but not touch if you're with child. Deal?" Jiraiya asked.

"That works. So we should probably inform sensei about Suna's possible betrayal. We're going to leave the village until the finals, but tell everyone that we might miss the finals for whatever reason," Tsunade explained.

"Okay, but are you going to take Shizune-oneechan with you?" Naruto asked.

"To keep up with appearances we will have too. Keep up with the training and take the last two days before the exams off to rest up and ease your minds. We will need yours and your fiancés' strength after your matches to help fend off the invasion, if there is one," Tsunade said, as she bit her thumb nail.

Naruto left the house after given both his grandparents hugs and a kiss to his mother on the cheek. He also wished them luck on their hunt and told them to be careful. Tsunade gave Naruto several scrolls for all three of them to study and work on for their training for when they were supposed to be with her, but since she would be out of town the scrolls would be their training.

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The next week and a half went by quickly. All three genin pushed themselves harder than before. Naruto and Haku found out that she had become a special partner with a certain toad who worked well with ice. Naruto continued to work with the jutsu that Jiraiya had showed him, but thought that even with the Shadow clones he might not get it. Hinata changed her outfit and wore several water skins on her outfit. She also had Naruto make all three of them some special scrolls. They had checked out the arena and found it lacking in water of any kind, thus the reason for the scrolls and water skins.

They met up with Fū, Shino, Rock Lee, Nijiko, and Shikamaru over the last week before the exams were to take place. Everyone wished the other good luck. Noticeably absent were the Sand genin. This seemed to reaffirm Naruto's suspicion that they were up to something. He passed his conclusions on to both the Hokage and his 'parents'.

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The day before the finals was a bluster of activity, but Naruto felt a presence follow him around from early morning till he met his brides-to-be for lunch. He finally turned into a known dead end alleyway. He turned to find Gaara standing there with a maniacal look on his face.

"Why is it that mother is afraid of you?" Gaara asked.

"You have the Ichibi sealed within you, right?" Naruto asked in return.

Gaara nodded. "Yes, but what does that have to do with why mother fears you?" he again asked.

"Ichibi is only one tail, I have a demon with more tails sealed within me," Naruto said without emotion, but a huge smile plastered on his face.

"So you too are a weapon for your village," Gaara said, while the grin faded from his face.

"Nope, they don't really like me here. I remind them too much of their pain," he explained.

"How do you not want to kill them all and prove your existence?" Gaara asked.

"There are other ways to prove your existence. I have people who are precious to me and I will do anything to protect them… anything," Naruto said. His facial whiskers darkened, his eyes turned red with slits for pupils, his hair became even messier, and his canine teeth became fangs. "You see, I can and will use the power of my demon to protect those I hold dear, the rest can just stay out of my way. So what will it be? Do we decide it here or in the arena?" Naruto asked.

Gaara appeared visibly scared and sweat was flowing down his face. "We can wait until the matches tomorrow, but I will not cease to exist," he said with much trepidation in his voice.

"I won't kill you unless you are a true threat to those I care about. Otherwise you're free to do as you like, unless it is breaking the laws and killing for no reason," Naruto explained.

Gaara backed away and then disappeared in a swirl of sand.

Naruto smirked at the hasty exit that Gaara did. Getting this much control of the Kyuubi power had not been difficult, but very taxing.

(Flashback)

Naruto again sat below the waterfall with Hinata watching over him. This was his first chance to try to access the Kyuubi's power. He figured that if he might need it, he should figure out a way to have more ready access to it. Naruto slowed his breathing and closed his eyes.

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Naruto open his eyes to find himself in a dungeon like setting, as opposed to the sewer he was in before. The hallways looked familiar, but then again they were different. He walked down to a door and opened it. What he saw surprised him, but only a little.

Before him was a fox chained to the walls, but asleep. He walked up to the fox, but kept out of reach of the either the tails or the paws. Naruto watched intently at the fox and noticed that it would sniff occasionally and a grin appeared on its face.

He sat down and waited for the fox to rouse or at least to stop faking that it was asleep.

The eye of the fox opened and came into focus, as it eyed Naruto. Naruto felt killing intent rise to extreme levels and he began to have trouble breathing. Through effort of his mind he stared back at the fox. The battle of will continued until the Kyuubi attempted to push it's chakra out towards Naruto. He released his own chakra and it hit the chains and the chains began to glow. The red chakra receded back to the Kyuubi.

"So are we going to fight like this forever?" Naruto asked.

"**Shut your mouth meat bag. I will kill you. Come here so that I can do it,"** Kyuubi said with a crazed look in its eyes.

"Not likely. You would be more able to get me to come closer if you hadn't threatened to kill me," Naruto explained.

Kyuubi roared in anger. **"Let me loose, I will destroy this accursed village!"** it yelled out in anger.

"No, it would kill the people I care about and me along with it," Naruto said forcefully.

"**What do you care? They have harmed both of us,"** Kyuubi said in rebuttal.

"I want us to get along…" Naruto said, but was interrupted.

"**I hate you!"** Kyuubi yelled back.

"I love you too, but we need to come to a compromise. I might need your power, so let's just call it rent. If I need your power, you give it to me. If this goes well then I might find a way to give you some limited freedom," Naruto explained.

"**You would never release me,"** Kyuubi said in an accusatory tone.

"You're right, I wouldn't let you go free, but I might allow you more freedom than you have now inside of here," Naruto explained, as he moved his hands in an opening motion.

"**Why would you do that? If, I'm the reason, that your life was so bad?"** Kyuubi asked.

"Because there was a reason you attacked and I want to know why a spirit is sealed within me," Naruto explained.

"**No! Get out, I will give you the chakra, but you will not know my secrets!"** Kyuubi yelled.

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Good enough for now. We have to live here together, so we might as well get along," Naruto said, as he turned and left the room.

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Naruto opened his eyes and saw a relieved Hinata. "So how did it go?" she asked.

Naruto smiled and said, "About how I figured, it is still mad and might take a few years to calm down."

"Naruto-kun, your eyes haven't returned to normal, they still have slits for pupils," Hinata explained.

Naruto sighed and replied, "Must be something that Kyuubi did." He was very tired.

(End of flashback)

Naruto laughed, because he knew his eyes would continue to look similar to an Inuzuka for a while. He went about his own business, but noticed an individual following him. He knew this time it wasn't Gaara, because his chakra was nowhere around. He continued to walk, but then suddenly jumped up onto a vendor's roof and to the roof of a building. He looked back and saw that there was a single kunai in each of his previous positions. He grinned widely and then said, "You can come out Anko-chan."

Anko appeared next to Naruto, with her arm wrapped around his shoulder. "So gaki, good evasion, do you think you're ready to take on that Suna chick?"

"Are you planning to rape Gifu?" Naruto asked with a knowing smirk.

"Who says I haven't already done that?" She asked with an equally sly smirk.

"So that is what happened when he came home the other night with tattered clothes and a stupid grin on his face?" Naruto asked only to see Anko blush profusely. Naruto wore a look of surprise and said in an astonished tone, "No way. You didn't!"

Anko nodded meekly and said, "Well it wasn't rape. More like an agreed…"

Naruto pushed Anko away and shook his head. "I didn't need to know that. What you two do in your apartment is your own business. If you become my mother-in-law great and if not we're still friends," he admitted happily.

Anko nodded and again wrapped her arm over his shoulder. "You know gaki. We're going to get along just fine. So why aren't you with the girls?" she asked.

Naruto sighed and replied, "They're fighting again over of all things, me. It's not like they won't get equal time from me."

Anko smirked and said, "Don't take it too hard. They're just setting up the pecking order for who is first wife and who is second. Most guys have problems with one girl. I would hate to see the problems you'd have if they didn't like each other."

Naruto nodded, as they both jumped down to the street level and continued through the market.

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A/N: Well next chapter is the beginning of the chuunin exams. I'm glad I didn't scare off my readers. Now to address some of the readers…

Annon: Yes, sure, I added some clichés. What author hasn't? At least you had some useful input unlike another flamer. I do thank you for your insight, as an up and coming writer-to-be I take your input and try to improve the story.

Neoslucius: You're right about it being sixteen fighters. This will give me a chance to work on some fights and see if I can actually write them. Fights aren't easy to write and I'm going to give it a try for the next couple chapters. The cannon chuunin exams were only about an hour or so. If these go to their fruition they would take most of the day, thus giving the contestants time recover some from previous fights. Also you're right the weak ones are out of the running.

Dragon Noir: Hiruzen is human and is more of a political animal now, than a fighter. Naruto is a glaring example of his failures and is now trying, not always successfully, to try and remedy or level the bad decisions. Tsunade is now on the council and with her presence they have been reined in. As for the jinchuuriki not telling… as for Shino and Fū, not telling that either.

Iwannabeahero: The only seal left on Naruto is the Kyuubi one.


	14. Chapter 14 Chuunin exam begins

Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in the series.

Enjoy the chapter…

Chapter 14 – The chuunin finals…

The Hokage was in his office meeting with a rather large, dark skinned man. "So let me get this straight. You, want to be in the audience instead of the Kage box?" Sarutobi asked in a surprised tone.

The man nodded. "I want to keep an eye on my genin in this event. Raijin is important to us. We also want to make sure that our jounin makes it back safely. I'm sure you can understand Hokage-dono," he explained.

Sarutobi sighed and replied, "Very well Raikage-dono. Please be careful. We expect a possible attack from the Sound and Sand villages today and would not want to have your people caught in the crossfire. I will assign an ANBU to your contingent and he will keep himself hidden at all times. Is that acceptable?"

The Raikage nodded and left the room.

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Naruto woke up in a mildly bad mood. Hinata and Haku hadn't settled their differences the day before and had gone to bed angry. While he didn't understand why they were fighting, he was sure that it had something to do with him.

(Flashback)….

Naruto entered the apartment to find the table overturned and the chairs scattered about the kitchen. Hinata and Haku were glaring at each other. Neither appeared to be hurt, but both wore angry looks. Naruto felt a chill run up his spine when both the girls looked at him like a piece of freshly killed meat. Not sure how to handle this he did the only thing he could, he said, "Hi girls…"

Hinata and Haku both broke down and began to cry. He immediately created a shadow clone and the both of them began to try to comfort the girls. Dinner was a quiet affair. Naruto had the clone to fix and serve dinner. Neither Hinata nor Haku seemed willing to release him after dinner. Eventually he was able to extract himself and went into the bedroom. He opened the door to find both girls again glaring at each other. Naruto got ready for bed, but noticed that Hinata and Haku both stripped naked and then jumped into bed with him. Rolling his eyes, he hoped it would be a short night.

(End flashback)….

Both of Naruto's hands were asleep and each was grasping a breast of the girl on said side. Well… sort of. It appears that the girls had positioned his hands on one of their breasts while he slept and now they were positions in such a way as to be able to grope them easily. He shifted a little and at that point was able to get some feeling back into his hands. If the girls hadn't been fighting over whatever reason he would have enjoyed the position a little more. Flexing his hands elicited a moan from each girl.

He enjoyed the feeling of the unintentional grope. They also moaned when he extracted his hands, since he dragged his hand across said girl's nipple. He finally sat up and both of the girls moaned his name. Naruto jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom and started the shower. Naruto returned to find both girls groggily waking up. Both noticed their state of undress and checked under the covers. Both sighed relief for something that Naruto had no idea why they did that.

Both of the girls entered the shower and the three cleaned each other, as per their normal ritual.

After drying off Naruto glared at the girls, who had the decency to blush under his glare. "Now I don't know or understand why you're fighting, but it has to stop. If you have a beef with each other take care of it in the tournament, but don't let it cloud your judgment," he said angrily. He features then turned softer and he continued, "I love you both and can't stand to see you two fighting. It's tearing me apart. Mainly because I don't know why you're fighting."

Both girls looked down at their feet and said in unison, "We're sorry Naruto-kun."

Naruto dropped his towel and embraced both of the girls. Both stiffened for a second and then returned the embrace. All three noticed the towels for the girls fall and the bare skin touching. All three blushed, but didn't break the embrace. Naruto felt tears hit his shoulder and he began to rub the backs of both of the girls and thus Zabuza found the three of them.

"So you couldn't wait until you at least made chuunin could you?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Haku glared at the man with teary eyes. While Hinata pushed her face further into Naruto's should only to elicit an 'Eep!', as her only reply to the accusation.

Naruto slowly released the girls and turned to Zabuza. "Shut up! We're having a bonding moment!" he yelled back at the jounin.

Zabuza chuckled inwardly and replied, "Yeah, I could tell. So which was your first?"

Hinata now glared at her sensei, but was really disturbed Zabuza was that the temperature of the room actually fell dramatically. He could tell, since his breath had become evident. Zabuza glared at Haku and said, "Save it for that Nara boy. Save your strength for the exams." He then turned and left the room.

All three quickly got dressed quickly mostly because the room was nearly at freezing temperature. They entered the kitchen and ate the breakfast that Zabuza had prepared.

The four met up with Kurenai, Anko and the Konohamaru corps on the way to the stadium. Konohamaru said he knew a shortcut, but Anko grabbed him while the other jounin grabbed his friends and the group took to the roofs and headed straight for the stadium.

-------

The trio entered the stadium's arena floor and looked around. They found all the other participants except for Sasuke were there and waiting. The other noted yet another outfit change for the trio. Naruto this time was wearing a sedate orange, tan and white camouflage outfit. He had his sword strapped to his back and carried several water skins on his back. Hinata wore light purple, pale green and tan camouflage outfit without sleeves. Haku wore light blue, tan, and white camouflage outfit similar to a jounin, but without the vest. She noticed a couple of the male contestant's eyes bulge at seeing that she was female. Adorned along the side and back of her outfit were several water skins along with a large scroll on her back.

Naruto handed each girl a scroll from his weapons pouch and stuck one for him next to his holster on his leg. "Use this if you feel you need it," he explained to them, only to receive a smile and a nod.

Five minutes later Genma coughed to gain their attention. "We shall begin the chuunin exams," he said loud enough for the participants to hear. He then turned to the crowd and yelled, "These are the contestant for the rank of chuunin. Will Hyuuga Neji and Hinata please remain here so that we can begin?"

Hinata nodded to Naruto and Haku, as they and the rest of the contestants headed up a side passage to the observation platform reserved for them. They found chairs, a table filled with food and refreshment, a monitor showing the arena floor and a door to a bathroom.

Hinata looked sadly at her cousin who only glared at her in anger. "Niisan, why do you hate me so?" she asked.

"You're weak, especially for someone from the main branch," he answered through clenched teeth.

"If this is about your father, I had nothing to do with what happened to him," Hinata explained.

"Nothing to do with it! It was all because of you that he's dead!" he yelled at her. He then continued, "And as a branch member I can do nothing about it outside of this challenge, so you'll pay for my misery."

Hinata removed her headband revealing the caged bird seal on her forehead. "I was also regaled to the branch family, brother. Now if you feel that you can beat me, come at me," she said with much conviction.

"I will toy with the weakling, who no longer is even a main branch of the house, so that I can receive justice," he explained, as he shifted to his juuken stance.

Hinata put the headband back and entered a different stance that few recognized. "Shall we begin?" she asked, as she pulled a string and a water skin opened, only to have its contents slowly move across her outfit and thus soak it.

"I see you've already wet yourself in fear of me," Neji said confidently.

Genma lowered his hand and jumped away while he exclaimed, "Begin!"

"I see that you're using chakra to manipulate the water, but it won't help you, because my juuken is too advanced," Neji proclaimed.

Hinata smirked, as her hand came from behind her and threw several senbon. Neji dodged only to find himself face to face with his cousin. She threw a strike to his left arm only to have it blocked by Neji, who she noted that he had better speed than she did. She also saw him use his fingers to tap a chakra point on her arm. She smiled, since he didn't notice his finger splash a little water off of her arm in that spot.

The two continued to trade blows, Neji began to smile more and more after each blow. He then dodged a blow meant for his sternum and hit her in the center of the chest. She skidded back, made several hand signs and said, "Water needle jutsu." Water came out of the spot that he had hit and hit Neji in the left arm that he brought up to defend against the attack. The senbon turned back to water after they had hit him, but left five small, bleeding holes in his arm.

The look of surprise written all over his face was priceless. "How can you do jutsu? I shutdown all of your chakra points," he said in astonishment.

Hinata smirked as she ran through another series of hand seals. "Water clone jutsu," she said, as the water from another water skin dumped out to form a second Hinata. "Each time you went to hit me I used the water to block your juuken strike. It takes very precise chakra control and the ability to see when you're going to do such a strike, so it would only be useable by someone with our eyes. Now about your father, I had nothing to do with it. I was an innocent victim of the whole thing and you're blaming me is so stupid. I was nearly kidnapped by Kumo and you want to blame me for his death? How egotistical are you? We're both now branded, even though I wasn't supposed to be. I wanted to remove the use of this accused seal from our family, so that both branches could live together in harmony," she explained.

Neji's face softened and he replied in a sad tone, "Those of the main branch will never stop their abuse of side branch."

"I no longer am a Hyuuga, and will prove that there is a better way than what there is now," Hinata exclaimed.

"Then show me this new way, Hinata-sama," he said, as he hardened his features.

Hinata smirked and said, "I've already won."

Neji shook his head and replied, "No, I can tell which of you is the Water Clone and which of you is real."

Hinata shook her head. "No, you see two clones, one Water and one Shadow," she explained. His eyes opened wide, when he felt a kunai at his inner thigh and saw her coming out of the ground. "You see, you can't move fast enough to get away, so give up, Niisan, please," she said in a pleading tone.

"You have never killed and thus I believe that you cannot hurt me, because you lack the will power to do so," he explained, only wince feeling the kunai pushed through the skin and into his leg.

"I'm sorry Niisan, but if you move I will sever your artery and you could die in minutes. Being instructed by Tsunade and learning anatomy has taught me how to be more efficient at my job and yes I have killed before. I don't want to take your life, so please give up," she said again.

Neji nodded, turned to Genma and said, "I surrender!"

Genma nodded and said "Winner, Hyuuga Hinata!"

Hinata carefully removed the kunai and helped Neji to the medic station. "I'm sorry Niisan, but you couldn't see the light and needed some guidance. See father about that incident. I'm sure he might have some more information for you," Hinata explained with a warm smile and left back to the observation platform, but not before collecting as much water as she could back into her water skins."

-------------

"So that is the girl we tried to kidnap?" the Raikage asked from beneath his cloak to Yugito, who was sitting next to him.

She only nodded and continued to watch the proceedings.

------------

Genma cleared his throat and asked, "Will Momochi Haku and Nara Shikamaru please both come down?"

Shikamaru shook his head and asked, "I might as well give up now and why do I have to fight a girl?"

Haku smiled warmly at Shikamaru and replied, "I guess it is just your good luck."

Haku noticed Shikamaru look around and smile at the length of the shadows. 'Great, now I remember, he's a shadow user. Well I guess I'll just have to use that jutsu. I was hoping to either not use it or wait until later,' she thought to herself. She positioned herself in a stance that would allow her to empty several of the skins at once. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and waited for Genma to begin the match.

"You know this is just a drag," Shikamaru said in a bored tone.

Haku smiled warmly at him and replied, "I know and I'm sorry we have to fight. You being Naruto's friend and all makes this, all the harder."

Genma again stared the mach with the lowering of his hands.

Shikamaru immediately jumped back and watched Haku.

'Since he didn't use his shadow jutsu right off the bat, I'll use a wind jutsu and save that jutsu for later,' she thought, as she made several hand seals and swung her hand forward, while she exclaimed, "Wind Style: Great breakthrough!"

A torrent of wind headed at Shikamaru who used a substitution jutsu to evade the jutsu. He watched in awe as she uprooted a tree and crashed it into the side wall. He then saw her panting and smiled. He jumped down, while doing hand seals. "Looks like that is a great jutsu, but it takes a lot out of you, Shadow possession, success," he exclaimed.

Haku smiled at the shadow user, who looked at her with a confused look on his face. "Water possession jutsu, success," she said happily.

The both looked down to see a small string of water connected to Shikamaru and a shadow connected to Haku.

"So what do we do now?" Shikamaru asked, but then he continued, "I knew you would be a hard one to beat, but I never thought you would use a jutsu similar to my family jutsu to catch me. I've currently run about two-hundred scenarios in my mind. I could win, but both of us would be out of chakra and the chances of success are less than one percent."

"You are smarter than you let on, but I would give you about five to ten percent chance to win, and with the sun slowly removing your shadows that number would only go down. We can keep our jutsu going until either one of us runs out of chakra. Which more than likely would be about the same," Haku explained.

"How do you figure that? You've got more chakra than I do," he replied in confusion.

"My jutsu is only newly created and thus wastes a lot of chakra, while yours is a family jutsu that has been refined and taught to you, but I can still win," Haku said with a grin that Shikamaru only thought Naruto was capable of.

More water came along the string and then formed a kunai and set itself against his throat. "That has to be hard," he said.

Haku smiled while her breath began to become labored. "You have no idea. Now give up please," she asked in a pleading voice.

Shikamaru sighed and said, "I know that you could finish me at any time, so I forfeit."

Genma smiled and said, "Winner Momochi Haku." The crowd erupted in applause.

Both released their jutsu and headed back to the observation area.

Genma looked down at his sheet and then said, "Will Aburame Shino and Kankuro of the Desert please come down?"

Shino prepared to head down just as Kankuro said, "Proctor, I forfeit."

Most of the genin noticed the sweat that had formed on his face above the makeup.

Genma sighed and said, "Very well. Shino wins by forfeit."

This brought up a round of booing from the crowd.

Genma announced the next participants, "Will Kinuta Dosu and Takiko of Taki please come down."

Dosu jumped over the railing and stood before Genma. Takiko made her way down to the stadium floor. She smiled at Genma and bowed. Genma bowed his head and said, "Ready, begin!"

Takiko ran through several seals and sent a large ball of water at Dosu. He quickly dodged and uncovered his melody arm. He tapped the metal and only a second later Takiko was on the ground holding her ears.

She began to move through several seals and fired a couple smaller balls of water at Dosu. Dosu dove forward and rolled in front of the girl his hand in her stomach. "It's over little girl," he proclaimed.

Takiko doubled over holding a kunai with an explosive tag on it. Dosu smiled under his bandages and jumped away. Takiko pulled out the kunai and did several hand seals and was enveloped by a sphere of water. The note exploded. Genma appeared next to the girl and proclaimed, "Winner Dosu…" but was interrupted by a second paper bomb that exploded right in front of him.

"Dosu!" Genma yelled holding Takiko in his arms. He was bloodied and angry. "You are near breaking the rules, because the second bomb was not necessary. She could not continue," Genma explained.

"My apologies Proctor," he replied.

Genma looked up at the Kage box after he placed Takiko in the hands of a medic. The Hokage nodded and Genma said, "You may continue with the exams, but are herby warned, if it happens again you will be disqualified."

Dosu nodded and said, "I understand Proctor and you have my deepest apologies for hurting you."

Genma glared at the sound genin, as the genin made his way back up to the observation platform. Naruto growled at Dosu as he passed him on the stairs to the arena floor. Temari just smirked at the whole affair.

Naruto pulled out a ski mask from his pouch that had a similar pattern as his outfit and put it on. "Good luck Temari-san," he said happily.

Temari raised an eyebrow at the antics of the young genin.

Genma nodded to both participants and said "Begin!" He disappeared and appeared on the top of the wall.

"Is he afraid of you or me?" Temari asked only to see a smile on Naruto's face that made her nearly wet herself. She opened her fan and said, "Cutting whirlwind!" She swung the fan and a cyclone of wind headed towards Naruto.

Naruto went through several hand seals and said, "Wind style: Great breakthrough." He swung his hand up and a blast of wind hit her jutsu canceling out both jutsu leaving dust to cover most of the stadium floor.

"Great cutting whirlwind!" Temari exclaimed, as a new bigger whirlwind appeared and began to move through the stadium. The whirlwind cleared the area of dust, but Naruto was nowhere to be found. She directed the jutsu at one of the trees in the stadium and cut it into pieces.

"That wasn't nice!" Naruto exclaimed from the other side of the stadium.

Temari swung her fan and said, "Cutting whirlwind." Another cyclone headed towards Naruto, only to have him go up in a puff of smoke when the jutsu hit him. Temari jumped suddenly, as a hand appeared beneath her.

"Earth style: Headhunter jutsu," Naruto said. He frowned, since he got her fan and not Temari. Naruto quickly jumped away when shuriken and kunai were suddenly landing near him. "Sorry about the fan…"

Temari growled, as she pulled the fan from the ground. "That wasn't nice you jerk," she exclaimed. She finally freed her fan only to realize her feet were sinking into the ground.

"Swamp of the Underworld," Naruto said just loud enough for Temari to hear.

"Let me go you brat," Temari exclaimed angrily, as she continued to sink.

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"That is very powerful jutsu to train a genin with," the Kazekage said.

"Yes, Naruto is an unusual genin," Sarutobi replied.

"He has shown at least two affinities. How delightful," the Kazekage said almost hungrily.

Sarutobi looked at the Kazekage with apprehension. 'Only my student Orochimaru would talk like that,' he thought to himself. "Oh by the way Kazekage-dono, I've come up with a replacement for my position," he said with a smile.

The Kazekage looked at him with surprise. "And who might that be?" he asked with a slight lisp.

The Hokage smiled and replied, "Why my student Tsunade of the Sannin."

The Kazekage's eyes went wide, but then returned to normal. "I'm glad you've decided to retire. I'm sure you old bones could use the rest," he said in an almost sad voice.

----------

The swamp slowly disappeared, as Naruto walked up to Temari, who was now stuck up to her neck. Naruto squatted down and asked, "So, is your brother the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi? Because I'm the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."

She paled, nodded and asked, "Please don't kill him. He's become a monster because of our father. I just know that there is some humanity left in him."

Naruto pulled off his mask and put it back into his pouch. "Sure, but you have to do something for me," he said in a playful tone.

Temari blushed. She then sighed and said, "Fine, I'll do anything." Images of the blonde Konoha genin ravaging her body went through her mind, but if it would save her brother she was willing to endure it.

"Great! Just surrender and I'll do everything I can to help him," Naruto said.

Temari gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing, but no words coming out. She then nodded in submission, but was happy that he didn't want to use her body.

"Winner is Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma exclaimed. The crowd went wild.

Naruto offered a hand to Temari, as she came up from the ground, while he released the jutsu. Naruto and Temari headed back to the observation area. Kankuro still had his mouth gaping at what Naruto had done.

Haku walked next to Shino and said, "I would have told him to close his mouth, so that he wouldn't catch any flies, but thought you might be insulted by the statement."

"Thank you for your concern, Haku-san, but I would not have been insulted," Shino replied.

Haku noticed a beetle leaving Shino's jacket. It caught a fly and flew it into Kankuro's mouth, who immediately began to gag on the fly. Haku could have sworn she heard a chuckle from Shino, but wasn't sure.

------------

"Amazing, the genin team with the blonde boy appears to be quite skilled. Two of them have at least two elemental affinities, and the third has at least one and to top it off she's a Hyuuga," Yugito exclaimed.

"Calm down Yugito-chan. We will no longer pursue that child, because we don't want to anger the Senju. The boy is Tsunade's adopted son. He appears to have both Wind and Earth affinities, but I'm guessing he has water also by the water skins he also carries," the Raikage explained.

"That might mean that they are actually related and he might have the Mokuton gene," Yugito said in astonishment. "Is there any way we could either capture or sway him and the others to Kumo?"

"I doubt it, he's Tsunade's son and both of the girls are on his team, but I agree that he is strong," the Raikage explained.

-----------

Rock Lee and Fū entered the stadium floor and both nodded to Genma. Genma smiled at both contestants and asked, "Are you both ready?" He received a nod and then said, "Begin." He jumped away to prevent any injury to himself, still remembering the trick that the Oto genin used.

Lee looked down then back up at Fū, who appeared to be smiling. "I'm sorry if I have to injure you Fū-san, but I must prove to my Sensei that we are right about the power of youth," he said in a sad tone.

Fū giggled at the boy's admission, but then replied, "Please use all your strength, Lee-san, trust me, you'll need it."

Lee smiled, nodded and then his face turned serious. He then noticed Fū's eyes changing. The pupil changed from a single pupil to having nine, all of them appeared to be small hexagons. Her iris continued to be red. He moved forward with blinding speed and threw a punch only to have it caught by Fū. He was amazed that she had stopped the punch with little effort. This also worried him. His punch had been stopped dead, even with his strength. This girl was truly amazing. He jumped back and began to circle the girl.

Fū was amazed that this Konoha genin possessed enough strength to push her in her initial stage. She thought that she would only have to use less than one wing worth of power to defeat this boy, but she was wrong, or was she. She gave an order to her insects to drain some chakra from the boy. Lee saw the swarm of insects heading his way and immediately dropped his leg weights and dashed off leaving a dazed Fū. She heightened her senses and could tell that this boy was using pure speed and strength instead of chakra enhancements.

Lee had seen the insects coming and decided that if he was going to make it past this competitor to be able to fight Naruto he had to pull out all the stops, because of her immense strength he would have to use both speed and strength to beat her. He ran around her in a circle and finally decided to change directions to head straight at her. As he approached he suddenly turned at the sight of a swarm of bugs in front of him. Given the damage that Shino's bugs could do, he was weary to take damage from these bugs. While they were slower than him they seemed to be able to predict his movements to some degree.

Fū was carefully watching Lee and trying to keep her insects between him and her. Until her skin became hard with chitin she was at least vulnerable. The process took a minute, but until it hardened in a minute later she was very susceptible to damage. She could hurry the process, but it would weaken the structure of the defense.

Lee noticed a green substance coming out of Fū's pores and it began to cover her body like an insect's exoskeleton. Lee decided to attack before that exoskeleton could harden. He rushed in and blew through the insect swarm.

Fū's eyes went wide when she saw Lee blow through her insects. His speed was phenomenal. She began to deflect the punches that he was throwing at her.

"I'm quite impressed you can block my blows at this speed Fū-san," Lee exclaimed.

Fū continued to block and caught Lee in an overextended punch and grabbed his arm. She spun around and threw him at the wall with all her might. Lee spun in the air and landed on his feet, but left a ten foot wide crater where he landed. "I try to please," she replied during the throw.

Lee jumped down off the wall and blushed profusely. 'I think I'm in love…' he thought to himself only to correct himself, 'I said I would devote myself to Sakura-chan and thus I can't get involved with another girl.'

Fū sent a portion of her insects at Lee and kept the rest as guards for herself. Lee began to run again this time he ran around the insects. He also felt some pain on his arms and his chest. He looked down to see holes in his suit and blood slowly flowing from said holes. 'I guess they are as dangerous as the Aburame insects, if not more so. I should avoid them if possible. I need to end this quickly,' he thought to himself. He then began to do a zigzag pattern of running at Fū.

Fū saw the attack coming and placed her insects right in front of herself. Lee was nearly at the insect wall only to disappear. She then felt a kick to her chin sending her into the air. She then noticed Lee appear behind her and he began to wrap her up in his arm wrappings. "Primary Lotus," Lee said loud enough for Fū to hear. He began to spin her quickly and directed the both of them towards the ground.

Two meters before they impacted the ground the wrappings tore and a set of insect wings emerged from her back and she changed her direction only to crash into the ground. Lee stumbled for a minute to get his bearings. Fū picked herself up and wiped the blood from her mouth with her arm. "Very impressive, Lee-san," she said in a complimentary tone.

Lee by now was breathing hard and smiled widely. "Your insect methods are also quite impressive, but I'm afraid I will have to bow out for now," he said while panting. He suddenly collapsed.

Fū ran over and caught him and instructed her insects to seal the damage they had done to the boy. She was impressed that he had lasted so long and taken so much damage. Her chitin armor fell off of her body in pieces, as Genma arrived. "Please call the medics, I have tried to keep him from dying, but I can only do so much with my insects. He will need some blood and his injuries healed," she explained.

Genma nodded and waved the medics over to the combatants. He then said, "Winner Fū of Taki."

The medics quickly put Lee on a stretcher and allowed Fū to remove her insects before they took him away.

------------

"Has your Uchiha fighter arrived yet, Hokage-dono?" the Kazekage asked.

The Hokage looked at his jounin guard who shook his head. "It would appear not. I guess we will have to disqualify him for not appearing," Sarutobi said sadly.

"Why not get the other matches out of the way. I'm sure he will arrive. He is after all the one all these people have come to see, the last Uchiha. Also my son wishes to test the Uchiha, so as a personal favor could you give him an extension?" the Kazekage asked.

Sarutobi sighed, but was woken from his musing by another jounin appearing next to him. "Yes?" he asked.

"The council is asking for you to give Uchiha Sasuke enough time to be able to compete. They even say if you have to move onto other rounds it will be fine with them. They really want him to compete," the jounin said in an annoyed tone.

Sarutobi began to smirk in a way that disturbed both the Kazekage and both jounin. "Sure we can allow him more time to compete. Tell Genma that we will skip over any match that would end along the lines of Uchiha Sasuke's. We will continue the proceedings," he said happily, but continued his line of thought, 'but we he will not be promoted and will be punished for dereliction of duty for his tardiness. For each round the punishment will get harder and I will allow Tsunade-chan to decide on his punishment.'

The jounin bowed and said, "Yes Hokage-sama." He then disappeared from the Hokage box and reappeared next to Genma. He whispered into his ear and disappeared.

Genma frowned heavily, but then said, "Uchiha Sasuke is not yet in the stadium, so we will continue the tournament. His spot will be saved and his match against Gaara of the Desert will be postponed, by the request of the Kazekage and the Konoha council."

This had a mixed result of both boos and cheers for what was done.

-----------

Tsunade sat down next to a rather large man in a cloak, similar to the one she wore. "Raikage, interesting development wouldn't you say?" she asked in a playful tone.

"Indeed, Senju Tsunade. To what do we owe the honor of your visit?" he asked in return.

"I was wondering if you were planning to kidnap my son," she said in a serious tone.

The Raikage chuckled lightly. "No, we have no intentions of doing any of that at this exam. We found out that there might be a fight along with the exams and wanted to protect a valuable genin and a special jounin," he replied happily.

"Nii Yugito, jinchuuriki of Nibi, the two tailed cat. I can understand why you want to guard her, but why the boy?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

The Raikage smirked and whispered into Tsunade's ear. Her eyes went wide and she saw Yugito blush. "Really… then I will keep you company while you watch, so that nothing will happen to such an important genin," she said with a smirk.

"We are honored Tsunade-sama," a dark skinned man with glasses said from behind her.

"I'm glad we had you agree to no rap while we're here in Konoha, Kirabi," the Raikage said in an annoyed voice.

"The rewards far outweigh the pain I feel at not being able to use my abilities to wrap," Kirabi said with a smirk.

Tsunade didn't miss the blush that appeared on Yugito's face.

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Naruto growled and said, "It's just like the council to give him a break none of us would get."

Temari hesitantly put a hand on Naruto and said, "Please don't be cross with my father, Naruto-kun. He wants to give Gaara an outlet for his anger."

Naruto looked at her in the eyes and whispered, "You're lying. I can smell your fear and also tell it from your body posture. Also, I got a whiff from the box and he doesn't smell like either you or your brothers. He smells different."

Temari looked at him in confusion. 'How could the man in the Kage box not be her father?' she thought, but was brought out of her musings when a bolt of lightning came from the sky and hit a blue dome. She looked down to see that the match between Raijin and Nijiko had become very heated.

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"Your bet was that if you win, I go back to Kumo with you, but if you kill me you would only have a useless corpse," Nijiko said while she panted, after having used a heavenly spin to deflect a rather powerful lightning jutsu.

Raijin also panted, but smiled and said, "I knew you could block it, or at least part of it. I find you attractive and would like to court you. Thus the reason I made the bet."

Nijiko blushed lightly, but also retook her stance. "I have no need to become an object, and a breeding puppet of Kumogakure," she replied angrily.

Raijin sighed, and said, "You wouldn't be a breeding puppet. I know the Raikage personally and would guarantee that no other man would touch you. If you chose to marry me then we could have children."

The grin seemed sincere, but she would not want to insult either Hinata-sama or Hiashi-sama, as the one who let the Byakugan go to Kumo, even if she found the darker skinned, blonde boy attractive. She had a duty to her village and to her clan.

The boy became surrounded by lightning and moved quickly at Nijiko. She sidestepped his fist and tapped his shoulder. They both winced in pain. His shoulder dropped and her hand had steam rising from it. They again traded blows. This time he was hit in the shoulder, but she was hit in the right breast. She blushed profusely and held her hand over her breast. "You're getting a little fresh aren't you? We haven't even had a date and you're already touching me in inappropriate ways," she said in a sultry voice.

"Being from Kumo, we have to work as fast as lighting," he replied with a smirk.

"So I would be just a one child stand?" she asked, as she closed.

Genma registered fear in Raijin's eyes, but he knew he had brought this upon himself.

The electric field that surrounded Raijin began to falter. Nijiko touched his right leg, only to have it collapse. "You would not treat me like a proper woman? You would take a relationship to a quick conclusion?" she asked angrily.

"No, that isn't what I meant," he said in a pleading tone.

"Would you cherish me and treat me like a goddess?" she asked with a critical eye.

Raijin waited a second too long to answer, "Of course I would!" He then felt his left leg collapse from under him. He also felt a grope of his butt as he fell on his back.

"I believe you, but it is too late and the match is over, sweetie," she exclaimed, as she wearily turned to Genma.

"Winner Hyuuga Nijiko," Genma exclaimed.

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"Quite a charmer you have their Yugito-chan," Tsunade said in a teasing tone.

Yugito shook her head and looked at Kirabi. "I blame it on his father," she said.

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A/N: Well another chapter down and we have the first part of the third portion of the chuunin exams up and running. I would like to thank the readers for their nice comments… well most of them. I know I turned off the anonymous reviews, but I did so because I'm tired of nameless people putting junk in my inbox. I like critiques and can handle them, but death wishes are a little far over the edge. The thing to remember is that I have a plan with each story. I will put in things that people will not like, heck I might not even like them, but they have a reason for them.

I do understand some of what Kishimoto is doing, but some of it is beyond my understanding. I will not spoil the latest manga with my opinions. Most of you know where I stand already. I hope you enjoyed my attempts at writing fighting in the exams. If I glossed over a fight I didn't feel that it was that important and only covered what was important or I put it in so that you could find subtle subplots. I know mean author. Before you ask, no, Temari will not be another wife for Naruto, he has enough problems with the two.

Next chapter: Hinata vs. Haku… what are you fighting about? And more…

Dustin B. AKA DusandDan: We will see him use his sword, but it will be later.


	15. Chapter 15 Round two… sort of…

Disclaimer: This is fanfiction, thus I own only the storyline where it differs from cannon. And I still hold no rights to the characters, other than the Original Characters that I have created for this story.

Chapter 15 – Round two… sort of…

After a thirty minute rest break, so that the participants could rest and spectators could go and use the bathrooms, Genma entered the field and called for attention. He called down Hinata and Haku to get ready to begin the next round of the finals.

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A slug slid up onto Sarutobi's shoulder and asked, "Why hasn't Uchiha Sasuke been disqualified yet?"

Sarutobi excused himself and went around the corner. "The council and the Kazekage both want him to participate in the exams, so I'm giving your summoner the right to punish him, as she sees fit. I'm guessing that he will show up just before we can't wait any more for him. I don't like it, but we need the income from the betting and the jobs that his match will generate. Currently Naruto, Haku and Hinata are all on their way to promotions. Please pass that on to Tsunade," he asked happily, just before the slug disappeared. He returned to his seat and could swear he saw a grin similar to Naruto's near where the Raikage was sitting.

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Hinata glared at Haku, but waited for the match to begin. Genma raised his hand and brought it down saying, "Begin!"

Hinata pulled out a scroll, opened it, bit her finger and wiped her finger over the scroll. Water suddenly came gushing out of the scroll. "You… you little tramp," she yelled at Haku.

"Why? Because I didn't abandon my friendship with Ino?" Haku asked, as she dropped the large scroll from her back and unrolled it. She then stepped on the scroll and a torrent of water poured from the scroll.

Hinata glared at the other girl, but said, "Yes, I'm mad at you for continuing your friendship with that bitch! She may have apologized to you, but she hasn't said anything to Naruto-kun! Her family has only imprisoned her bitch of an aunt for what she did to Naruto-kun! The family has neither apologized nor compensated him in any way!"

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Naruto shook his head at the interchange between his girls. 'So that is what this is about. I guess that Hinata-chan was also hurt by this more so than Haku-chan, more than likely because she has the seal on her and can understand the pain that only seals can bring with them. She is right though. Ino and the Yamanaka's haven't done anything other than hand over the woman who placed the seals on me. Guess we'll just have to talk to the Yamanaka after the exams, that is if we don't have the invasion we're all worried about,' he thought to himself and slowly backed away from the railing.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto's worried look and asked, "Troubles at home with the little women?"

Naruto gave his friend a worried smile and said, "You have no idea, but if I were you I would move away from the railing. That is if you don't want to be washed into the arena with a couple of angry kunoichi."

Shikamaru smiled and backed away from the railing. "That would be 'troublesome'," he said to a hearty laugh from Naruto.

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Sakura looked at Ino with a curious look on her face and asked, "Why is Hinata so mad at you and your family?"

Ino blushed from embarrassment and some anger. "Well, one of my aunts apparently put a seal on Naruto when he was a child, really bad one. It was recently found and removed, rather painfully from what I was told," she explained.

"What type of seal was it?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not at liberty to say, but let's just say that Hinata has just cause to be mad. My father wants to apologize after the exams, so that Naruto will know that he didn't approve of what my aunt did," Ino said in a dejected tone.

The audience watched in awe as the stadium floor filled with water. They also noticed a thin sheet of ice form beneath the water. The water continued to rise to about three feet in depth. Both Hinata and Haku were standing on the water.

"How can they do that?" Sakura asked.

Ino looked at Sakura like she was either stupid or had been hiding in a closet for several months. "It's called water walking and it is a both a skill and a way for you to both improve your chakra control and capacity," she explained.

"We never did anything more than tree climbing," Sakura said in a surprised tone.

Ino looked at her dumbfounded. 'What is that man doing to my Sasuke-kun? I know something he doesn't?' she thought to herself, as thoughts of hurting a one-eyed sensei crossed her mind.

--------------

Hinata smiled and said, "Thanks Haku-chan. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to use the scroll and am glad you did."

Both girls went through about thirty hand seals. Water began to spin beside each of the girls forming a large pillar of water. Both of the girls exclaimed, "Water Style: Water Dragon jutsu!"

The pillars of water formed a dragon's head and headed at the other. Both dragons bit the other's neck and decapitated the other. The bodies of the dragons fell back to the waiting pool on the stadium floor. Both girls were panting hard, but then they once again did hand seals and proclaimed, "Water Needle jutsu!"

Hundreds of senbon created from water headed at each of the combatant. Almost all were intercepted by the one coming from their rival. Those that got through were easily stopped by the target wielding a senbon.

"You have improved Hinata-chan, but you still lack the strength to beat me. I do agree that you're right that I should have been harder on Ino, but I fail to see what getting angry will do for us and our situation," Haku explained.

Hinata did several hand seals and said, "Water Style: Tidal thrust." The water drained from Haku's side to only be about a foot deep, while the water beneath Hinata rose to be about three meters high. The water suddenly burst forward and crashed towards Haku.

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Naruto jumped to the back of the balcony followed by everyone in the balcony other than Gaara and Kankuro. The water skins on Naruto opened and spilled the water from them. He then said, "Water Style: Water encampment!" The water formed a wall of water that locked out Kankuro and Gaara from the back of the chamber.

Kankuro looked surprised at Naruto who wore a look of near fear on his face. He turned to Gaara who disappeared in a swirl of sand only to reappear behind Naruto. He looked through the water to see a look of fear on Temari's face. He turned just in time to see the water wash up the side of the stadium and grab on to him, thus pulling him down onto the stadium floor. Everyone watched as the furniture and fixtures in the room were pulled out and down to the stadium floor.

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Hinata was panting, as the water returned to its previous level. Haku's dome of ice fell apart, while Haku stood and smiled at her friend. "So you finally got that jutsu?" she asked happily, only to have a kunai placed at her throat. "I see you also use the water clone to hide your change in placement," she said in a complimentary fashion.

"I learned from the best, but your Ice clone isn't that good just yet," Hinata said, as she pushed the kunai into Haku's neck, only to have her shatter into ice blocks. "So what now Haku-chan?" she asked, as she looked down at the water and suddenly jumped away from a hand coming out of the water.

"Nearly had you that time Hinata-chan. Your reaction time is improving. Now try this on for size, shadow clone jutsu," Haku exclaimed, as six Hakus appeared in puffs of smoke.

Hinata let out a large sigh and exclaimed, "Not fair, we both know you have bigger reserves!"

"You use what you have and improvise where you can Hinata-chan," Haku explained.

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Ino and Sakura were shaking off the water that had sprayed on them from Hinata's jutsu. "Man, I'm glad I'm not on her bad side right now," Sakura said in a mocking tone.

"Dad better hurry up with that apology or I'm dead," Ino said in a depressed and desperate tone.

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The Kazekage looked excitedly down at the stadium floor. "Those girls are quite impressive. Too bad that technique would be useless in the desert," he said wistfully.

"You saw that they carry scrolls with water along with them. Doing so will help them be able to overcome that hindrance," Sarutobi explained.

"I heard that your students had left town recently. I was hoping to meet with them," the Kazekage said.

"Yes, they were taken away on important business. I figure they will be back in about a week or so, that is if you wouldn't mind waiting for them," Sarutobi said happily.

The Kazekage shook his head and said, "No, no, it was a simple matter that I had wished to discuss with them and can be done later."

Sarutobi nodded, but also smirked as he turned back to the arena.

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Hinata had used several water clones to compete against the shadow clones, but knew it was a losing battle. She used juuken to destroy the clones as quickly as she could. Finally both females stood before each other. They began to laugh and pant at the same time. Both then sat down on the water and smiled at each other. This battle had lasted for more than thirty minutes.

Hinata turned towards Genma and said, in between gasps for air, "Proctor, I surrender and can't continue any longer."

Genma nodded and yelled, "Winner by forfeit is Momochi Haku!"

The crowd stood and began to cheer emphatically.

Haku sunk below the water and touched the scroll. The water slowly disappeared from the stadium floor, only to leave a layer of ice on the bottom of the stadium. Haku and Hinata both skated towards the stairs.

Genma shook his head. 'Those girls are going to be hell of a pair of kunoichi when they get older,' he thought to himself. "Will Aburame Shino and Kinuta Dosu please come down to the area floor?"

Shino glared at the twitching form of Kankuro, as both he and Dosu passed him. "Pathetic," Dosu exclaimed, as they neared Genma.

"Please Kankuro of the Desert, leave the area or become one of the obstacles that either of these two gentlemen can use to fight against each other," Genma explained. Kankuro got up slowly and went back up the stairs to the others waiting on the balcony.

"You are going to go down like the other one, quickly and efficiently," Dosu said boastfully.

Shino adjusted his glasses and said nothing in return.

Genma moved his hand down and said, "Begin."

Shino jumped back only to have Dosu follow him on the ground. He failed to notice a group of insects latch onto his feet. Quite a few of the audience also noticed this, but didn't comment. Shino extended his arms and sent a wave of flying insects towards Dosu. Dosu pulled the sleeve of his coat back and revealed his Melody arm. He flicked the metal and watched happily, as the insect swarm began to move around him.

"You haven't a chan…" Dosu began to say only to feel himself weaken quickly.

"You rushed forward quickly before assessing your opponent. You can either surrender or my insects will suck you dry. Please say you won't surrender," Shino said in a dry tone.

Dosu's eyes rolled into the back of his head.

Genma checked the body and declared, "Winner, Aburame Shino."

Shino walked over and collected his insects. He then left the arena for the balcony.

Naruto smiled at Shino on the way down. "You did good Shino," he exclaimed.

Shino only nodded at this, but kept his eyes trained on Fū.

She for her part smiled and waved, as she passed him.

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"Rather anticlimactic, wasn't it?" the Kazekage asked.

"The Aburame were never flashy when the win," Sarutobi explained.

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Genma looked at the two combatants and smirked. 'How are you going to win this one Naruto?' he thought to himself. "Begin," he exclaimed.

Naruto smiled at Fū and she returned the smile. "Do we want to go all out or do we want to end this quickly?" he asked happily.

Fū put her finger to her chin, as if thinking and then turned to Naruto and said in a playful tone, "Whatever you like blonde."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but then wore a grin that sent a chill down both Genma and Fū's spines. "I've got nine, how many do you have?"

Fū looked at him like he was crazy, but then it hit her. "I've got seven, so I guess we can leave them out of this battle, at least this time. So you going to go all out against my bugs and I?" she asked with a smirk plastered on her face.

Naruto shook his head and bit his thumb. He proceeded through several hand seals and then said, "Summoning jutsu. Meet two of my friends Gamakichi and Gamatasu. I'm sure they would love to have some insects for lunch." Both of the toad's grins broadened, if that was even possible.

Fū paled, she had accepted that some of her bugs would die in the exams, but to be eaten by their mortal enemy. That was too much. She bowed her head and asked, "How many can you summon?"

Naruto's grin widened and he said, "More than likely, about fifty or so if I don't summon any of the larger toads."

Fū's shoulders slumped and she turned to Genma. "Proctor, I do not wish to continue. This opponent is not one I could ever possibly win against," she explained.

Genma nodded and said, "Winner Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto smiled and threw some candies to the toads before they disappeared in clouds of smoke.

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"So he can summon the toads?" the Raikage asked.

Tsunade nodded and said, "He can also summon slugs if needed. I equipped my son for most situations. Now if that damn Uchiha would show up we could get on with the finals. I think he has taken after his sensei and not in a good way."

Raikage chuckled at Tsunade's anger. "So he is the student of Hatake Kakashi?" he asked and Tsunade nodded.

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Sarutobi looked at the council member and the Kazekage with irritation. "You can't be serious?" he asked angrily.

"We are quite serious Hokage-dono. I came here to see the Uchiha take on my best and we shall do so or Suna will pull itself out of the alliance," the Kazekage explained.

"We also need to see if the Uchiha has the abilities to be promoted Hokage-sama," the council member explained.

Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose to try and push away the headache he knew was coming. The crowd while happy at the fact that several of the shinobi had given very good fights, they were not completely happy, but since Uchiha Sasuke had not shown up yet and that was the perceived reason for the high turnout. He sighed and turned to the council member. "For his tardiness Uchiha Sasuke will not be allowed to attain the rank of chuunin, but will be able to participate in the exams to showcase his talents," he said authoritatively. He then turned to the Kazekage and smiled meekly. "Gaara will have his fight with Sasuke. The last Uchiha versus Gaara of the Desert, but there will be concessions from Suna for this heinous breach in protocol for just one genin," he said in a capitulating tone.

The Kazekage nodded his head and said in a grateful tone, "We thank you very much Hokage-dono for your gracious offer. We shall discuss the concessions after the tournament."

A jounin walked up next to the Hokage and whispered into his ear, after a nod he took a place next to the Hokage.

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Naruto walked between Haku and Hinata and asked, "So is everything okay with you two now?"

Haku scowled and shook her head. "No, Naruto-kun. We are both angry that Ino-chan and her family haven't come forth and apologized for what they did to you and inversely us," she replied angrily.

Naruto placed his hand in the small of their backs and began to rub. "It's alright. We will see how they react after things have settled down. I can tell that Gaara is getting antsy and wants to have a fight. My guess is that he will try to let his demon out in released form and we will have to find a way to stop him," he said.

"Very good idea Naruto-kun and I will help you. You may have nine, but we both know that controlling more than one tail is difficult. Also that jounin from Lightning might assist us," Fū explained.

"My sensei told me to inform you, Naruto-san that she will be there to assist you if you need it. If you could help me to getting to know Nijiko-san better, I would offer to try to get my father to help also. He holds eight, but please do not spread it around," Raijin said quietly to the group.

Naruto smirked and raised an eyebrow at Hinata. She sighed and then nodded. She left the group and walked up beside Nijiko. The girls began to giggle and blush. "Well Hinata-chan will help you as best as she can. I just hope this isn't another attempt to get the Byakugan," Naruto said in a near growl.

Raijin blushed, but said in his defense, "In a way it is, but that isn't the ultimate goal. I find her attractive and want to get to know her better. If something comes of it than we shall go from there."

"So where is teme?" Naruto asked.

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Genma nodded, as the other jounin pulled away from his ear and disappeared. "Uchiha Sasuke will be give an additional ten minutes beyond the thirty minute break to arrive or he will be disqualified," he explained.

-----------

Sarutobi sighed after the announcement was given. He knew that was all he could give because he needed this exam to be completed. His new guard smirked on several occasions at the uncomfortable posture that the Kazekage was in. A slug appeared on Sarutobi's right shoulder and waited to be acknowledged. "If you will excuse me Kazekage-dono," he asked, while he stood and walked around the corner. "How may I help the slugs again?"

"Naruto-sama wants to know why, in his words that 'teme gets all this time and extensions, when we both damn well know that they would have disqualified me for being a second late?' Please excuse the vulgarities, but he is rather angry at the moment, Hokage-sama," the slug explained.

Sarutobi laughed. He actually laughed. "Tell Naruto-kun that he should prepare to constrain the council's budget, because they are the reason, along with the Kazekage for allowing him these extensions," he explained.

"Naruto-sama also reports that the Kazekage doesn't smell like his children. He can't place the scent, but they are not related. I hope you understand that information, because I frankly don't," the slug said.

The Hokage nodded and said, "I have an idea who it is and his findings just verified what I thought was happening. I have a mission for Naruto-kun and the other Konoha genin. I want them to detain the Suna genin if there are any problems."

"Yes, Hokage-sama, as you wish. Naruto-sama has already conferred with the other genin except for Suna and Oto. He believes that the boy, Gaara is a jinchuuriki of Shukaku, the Ichibi. He already has the support of Shichibi and Nibi. He also possibly has the support of another one from Kumo. He also wanted to inform you that the Raikage is most interested in protecting his nephew, Raijin. All other things for him are secondary," the slug explained.

"That is good to know. Can you pass this information on to Tsunade and to Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked.

The slug bowed, or what would equate to a bow and said, "I will do as you request Hokage-sama." With the order received the slug disappeared.

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Genma looked down at his watch and saw that there was about ten seconds left before he could disqualify the Uchiha boy, so he cleared his throat and began to say, "Because he hasn't…" He stopped and noticed the increase of chakra building in the stadium floor only a few feet from him. A boy and Kakashi both appeared in a swirl of leaves. He turned to the boy and asked, "And you are?"

The boy smirked and replied, "Uchiha Sasuke."

Kakashi began to scratch the back of his head and said sheepishly, "Sorry about being late, but I hope he hasn't been, you know… disqualified."

Genma held his face blank for about a minute before it turned into a scowl. "He is becoming a lot like you. He's about three hours late, but no, he hasn't been disqualified. I would thank the Hokage if I were you boy."

Sasuke's smirk became an actually devious smile. "I'll do that when I get the chance. Now I have a match to begin with," he said in a boastful tone.

Genma turned and said, "Gaara…" he then noticed Gaara standing next to them. "Good you're down here so we can begin. Now if you'll go up to the spectator area Kakashi, then we can truly begin."

Kakashi nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Genma began the match and backed off. Sasuke began to throw punches and kick only to have them blocked by the sand. Sasuke's speed began to increase, so Gaara send his sand after Sasuke. Sasuke backed up to the wall and climbed it using chakra.

Sasuke went through three hand seals and began to produce lightning chakra in his left hand. "Chidori," he exclaimed. He then ran down the wall and across the stadium floor. He suddenly hit a patch of ice and nearly fell. Gaara began to smile like a cat that was going to capture a canary. Sasuke was able to recover and increased his speed. Gaara brought a wall of sand up in front of himself.

Suddenly he felt his sand come up behind him to defend him. He turned to see Sasuke shove the lightning ball in his hand at him. He was able to adjust slightly and felt the jutsu pass quickly through his barrier. Given an extra instant he shifted his position and was grazed on the left ribs by Sasuke's hand, as blood began to spray across the field. Sasuke jumped back and found that the sand continued to follow him. He wore a satisfied smirk on his face.

Gaara held his chest and brought his hand up to his slowly blurring vision. "My blood!" he yelled in a fearful tone.

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Naruto watched Temari's face show several emotions at once. 'Apparently Gaara has never been injured and this is the first time he has actually been hurt,' Naruto thought about his observations.

"Gaara!" Kankuro yelled only to pass out.

Temari looked at Kankuro and noticed the bugs leaving her brother. She looked down at the floor and saw a line of bugs coming from Shino to her legs. She pulled out her fan only to drop it and collapse in a heap. "Good job Shino. Now we just need to watch for…" Naruto said only to be interrupted by a smoke bomb going off up in the Kage booth.

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Sarutobi turned to the Kazekage and saw the malice in his eyes. He then saw two kunai hit his guards, only to have the Kazekage appear behind him and jump up to the roof of the building. Sarutobi smiled and said, "So Orochimaru, you finally reveal yourself."

The Kazekage pulled off his mask and the face behind it. "So you saw through my deception, I'm happy my old sensei could actually see it. So, how long have you known, sensei?" Orochimaru asked.

Sarutobi chuckled and replied, "We only guessed at it, but you now confirmed it. Also your minions will not escape."

The two Suna guards had changed into four Sound shinobi. They had gone through several hand seals and erected a black barrier. The guard they thought they had killed appeared in the area that they had sealed. The four immediately put up a secondary barrier behind them to protect themselves from attacks from the inside. The Konoha shinobi again disappeared from view.

"It is so good to return home," Orochimaru exclaimed and a smile came across his face. He then continued, "So I can destroy this retched village."

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A/N: Well I hope that answered your questions on the fight between Haku and Hinata. Into every family a little rain must fall, and thus we see differing opinions can cause problems.

Next chapter: The invasion begins...


	16. Chapter 16 The invasion

Disclaimer: Me owning Naruto and Inyuasha is like… hilarious, so it aien't true.

Enjoy the chapter. All comments welcome… except for death threats…

Chapter 16 – The invasion...

Sasuke finally began to pay attention to his surroundings and saw feathers falling from the sky. "Genjutsu..." he said quietly to himself. He reactivated his Sharingan and saw Gaara surrounded by a golden aura of chakra. He also noticed that the wound on his left side was covered in sand and had stopped bleeding.

"Uchiha Sasuke, your blood will satisfy mother," Gaara yelled manically. The sand began to coalesce only a few meters from Sasuke. Gaara extended his hand and the sand shot towards Sasuke.

Sasuke jumped to the side only to be slammed by the sand and send towards the wall. Sasuke picked himself up and coughed out some blood.

Gaara's face began have an almost gleeful appearance. "Yes, bleed, Uchiha, bleed. Mother will enjoy your blood," he said in a jovial and maniacal voice. The sand began to wrap around his throat and it also wiped the blood still on his chin.

Sasuke's vision began to blur from lack of oxygen. He collected more lightning chakra in his left hand and slammed it down on the arm that had formed from the sand. It immediately fell from the point of the contact with the lightning. He gasped for breath and wearily watched Gaara. "You're a monster," he quietly exclaimed.

"Not yet, but I will be and mother will enjoy feasting upon all of these people," Gaara said happily, as he waved his arm wide to emphasize his point. He began to walk towards Sasuke with a grin that scared him more than Itachi had ever done. He extended his arm and a column of sand headed towards Sasuke.

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Naruto and Shino finished tying up the Suna siblings. Hinata closed their chakra points just to be sure they would stay put. "Okay, let's get down to business," Naruto exclaimed.

"You're loud, but what is your plan?" Shino said with no emotion.

Naruto looked down and saw Gaara and Sasuke fighting. "Well we first need to disable Gaara, while you others take down any enemies. It looks like Oto and Suna are the enemies. You can either kill or incapacitate. I suggest that everyone but Fū and I go and try to find our sensei. She and I will take care of Gaara, especially if Raijin's sensei and father help out, it will be over with quickly," he explained.

"We should then get my parents," Raijin said bashfully.

"So I get to meet your parents? How cute," Nijiko teased. Raijin blushed, but waved the others to follow him, Hinata, Haku, Nijiko, and Shino all followed Raijin out of the balcony.

"It's just you and me," Naruto said happily.

"Won't your girlfriends be jealous?" Fū asked in a playful tone.

Naruto smirked and said, "Only if you're not serious, because if we fool around, they might kill us, instead of the enemies."

Fū giggled and jumped down with Naruto to the stadium floor. He drew his sword on the way down. He swung it in a downward arc, thus deflecting a group of kunai that had been thrown at the two. "Nice technique," she asked, as they touched the ground.

Naruto blushed, but didn't seem to lose concentration. Naruto squinted and sighed. "I'm going to hate myself later, but we need him for now. Wind Scar!" he yelled with a swipe of his sword. This sent a visible condensed air column towards Gaara, it dug a trench in the ground about a half a meter deep. It hit the sand arm that was heading towards Sasuke and cut it in two. The side that now wasn't connected to Gaara fell to the ground.

Gaara and Sasuke turned to Naruto and Fū, Sasuke had a confused look on his face, but Gaara had a look of intense hatred. "You interfere with my getting mother the blood she demands. How dare you?" he asked angrily.

"Sasuke run, this is above your level!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke scowled and replied in a derogatory tone, "Like I would take orders from the likes of you Uzumaki!"

"Then take an order from me. Go find your sensei and follow his orders. I leave him to you Uzumaki-Senju-sama," Genma said with a bow.

Sasuke looked between Naruto and Genma with wonder written all over his face. "Senju, how?" he asked.

"Tsunade-kaasan, adopted me. So get out of here! You heard the jounin!" Naruto yelled, as he deflected sand balls the shape of shuriken with his sword.

Suddenly two Kumo shinobi appeared next to Naruto. "May we be of assistance? Our son told us that you might want some help taking out some Tanuki trash," the blonde female jounin said, while the dark skinned man with glasses and blonde hair nodded, as he rested his hand on the woman's shoulder.

Naruto nodded, but then scowled at Sasuke who began to run at Gaara with yet another 'Chidori'.

"Proctor-san, Sasuke is going to get himself killed. Please remove him before we bring out the big guns if you know what I mean?" Naruto asked in almost a pleading voice. Genma disappeared, only to appear right behind Sasuke and hit him on the neck, thus knocking him out. "Thank you." Genma nodded and disappeared again.

"You only delayed the inevitable. I will kill you all!" Gaara yelled at the other jinchuuriki.

All four raised an eyebrow only to begin to pull out demonic chakra. "You want to play demon... well we can play too, but I figure that you're out tailed by about twenty-eight to one. So does that Tanuki think it can take all of us on?" Naruto asked.

Gaara smile faded for an instant, but then came back in full force, as he yelled, "Die!"

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Sarutobi stood over one of his downed jounin and stood next to Jiraiya. They both watched in awe as three caskets began to rise out of the roof. Sarutobi had been too late to try to stop the caskets, because he and Jiraiya were tending to the jounin. The caskets were labeled with the Roman numerals for one, two and four.

The casket tops fell away from the standing caskets, revealing three of the former Hokages. "Don't you just love this jutsu? I've brought back your former sensei to destroy you and this village," Orochimaru explained. He pulled out three kunai. "With these little trinkets they will become my mindless killing machines.

Jiraiya looked at the Four Hokage with tears in his eyes, but that changed when he saw the Fourth both wink and smirk.

"You look old Hiruzen, what has happened during our absence?" Harishirama asked.

"My disciple has caused many problems, I apologize for him to disturbing your slumber," Sarutobi said in an apologetic tone.

The First looked at Orochimaru and nodded. "I'm sorry, but it looks like we're here to fight you Hiruzen," Harishirama said in a dry apologetic tone.

A voice called from beyond the wall. "You bastard! You bring back my family to destroy what they swore to protect?" Tsunade yelled.

Minato turned to Tsunade and smiled warmly. "It is good to see you again. Was the matter cleared up?" he asked.

Tsunade nodded with teary eyes. "Yes, it's true. Also I did an adoption," she explained.

Minato nodded and turned back to Jiraiya and Sarutobi. "You've not done a good job with my legacy did you? Kushina will be pissed when you join us, Sarutobi-san," he said in an angry tone.

"My, my, aren't we talkative? I want you all to destroy them and then the village," Orochimaru explained.

Minato looked at the kunai and smirked. He slowly pulled out a kunai and began to cut his hand.

"Anxious are we?" Orochimaru asked.

Minato nodded. Orochimaru placed the kunai in the heads of each of the Hokage in order. "Now my pets destroy them," he ordered.

Before the dead Hokages finished rejuvenating, the roof was rocked by a shockwave that traveled from the edge through the rest of the roof. The roof began to collapse and the Sound shinobi holding the barrier began to fall. The barrier fell quickly. Tsunade stood there with her fist at the origination point of the shock wave with her fist touching the roof. "So you thought that you could use my family for your dirty games did you?" she asked angrily.

"Hime, you should know that I would do anything to get even with this village," Orochimaru said.

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Naruto had brought up a wall of wind to protect the group only to have it turn into a wall of blue fire. He turned to see a blushing Nii Yugito. "I thought a hot flame might help us with taking out his sand," she said happily.

Naruto smiled wide at her. All four were now showing an aura and one tail. Naruto nodded, as both he and Yugito brought down the barrier. Gaara looked at the group with a stunned look on his face. "What? Did you think that you're the only jinchuuriki in town?" Naruto asked in a joking tone.

Gaara growled at Naruto only to hear Naruto and Yugito both growl back at him. This surprised Gaara. He began to feel very small against the force of four other jinchuuriki. He felt Shukaku push as much chakra through him as possible. He was now surrounded by an aura of gold, while Naruto was surrounded by a red aura, Yugito a blue aura, Fū by a florescent green aura and finally Kirabi was surrounded by a brown aura. He heard a whimper in his mind when all four produced a second tail and Yugito took on the form of a burning cat.

"So Tankuki, think you can take all of us?" Yugito said in a burly voice that had a playful purr to it.

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As the group stood next to Shizune and the Raikage, the Sound and Sand shinobi began to back off.

"I think you should have kept the cloak on uncle," Raijin said in a dejected tone.

"They should fear the Raikage and it appears that Orochimaru has bitten off more than he can chew," the Raikage said with a smile, while he pointed at the smoldering ruins of the roof that she had gone to.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama does have a problem with leaving things intact," Shizune said with a giggle.

A man appeared behind Shizune only to be split in two by a massive sword. "Sorry to be late, but Anko-hime wanted some extracurricular activities behind one of the pillars," Zabuza explained, much to the embarrassment of Haku. Anko had enough composure to blush and straighten her skirt.

"Please Raikage, if you will follow us we will lead you to the dignitaries shelter," Anko said, but everyone could tell that she really wanted to get into the fight instead of playing nursemaid to a visiting Kage.

The Raikage seemed to notice this and smirked. "I will not leave a fight when it has started. We also have the Lightning Daimyo to protect along with the others. So let's clear this part of the stadium of these annoying pests," he said while he swatted a Sound shinobi into a column.

Zabuza smile became very wide and revealed his shark-like teeth. "As you wish Raikage-sama," he said gleefully.

The group began to move from the bottom of the stands in that section and worked their way to the top killing all that opposed them and guiding those that were awake to a safe exit. Zabuza, Anko and the Raikage were reveling in the carnage. Haku, Hinata, Shizune, Raijin, and Nijiko when compared to the other much more sedate, but just as effective.

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Naruto stood on a scroll and released a torrent of water. This water redirected towards Gaara, who was now covered in sand and looked like a five foot tall tanuuki. Sand flowed at the group of jinchuuriki only to clash with the water. Naruto smirked, as the two items combined. He ran through several hand seals and then said, "Freeze!"

The water and sand turned into a large block of ice. Gaara growled at this and sent more sand at the four. Naruto looked at Yugito who nodded and took a breath. He then breathed out a fireball. Naruto went through several hand seals and then said, "Wind Style: Great breakthrough."

The condensed wind hit the fireball, causing it to both increase in size and speed. It slammed into the column of sand and began to travel down the column. The sand that hit the fireball was immediately turned into glass and pushed to the side. Gaara jumped out of the way only to find Kirabi standing there to slice him with a sword across the chest. Gaara screamed in pain, but jumped to the side since the spot he was at before was still burning.

"You know, yo, yo, that you have nowhere to go?" Kirabi said in a playful tone.

"I will not let my existence be destroyed," Gaara said in rebuttal.

"We're not wanting to kill you, but if you keep this up we will have no choice," Fū said from behind him, just as she hit him into a wall. The wall collapsed along with the first three rows of seat some fifteen meters from the stadium floor.

Naruto turned to Yugito and said, "Remind me to not piss her off. She's scarier than my kaasan."

Naruto noticed the evil smirk on Yugito's cat form. "As you wish young Senju," she said in a playful, but deep voice.

All four stood around the sizable rubble waiting for Gaara to exit it. A large chunk of the wall fell over to reveal a tired looking Tanuuki. "I will not lose," Gaara yelled.

All four looked at each other only to notice Naruto smirk terribly. "Okay, how about we play a game of tag?" Naruto asked.

The other four jinchuuriki looked at him like he was insane. Naruto disappeared and reappeared behind Gaara with a kunai and stabbed him at the base of the tail, in other words his butt. The other three cringed at this. Gaara noticed him and smacked him violently with his tail. "That was useless Uzumaki," Gaara lectured Naruto.

He failed to notice the smirk on Naruto's face, especially when he quietly said, "Boom." The three paper bombs on the kunai burned for a second and then exploded. This rocked the entire stadium and collapsed more of the stands in that section. Naruto landed on a chair only for it to give way and the floor to collapse below him. He disappeared into the rubble. Gaara on the other hand was doubled over, but holding his butt.

The other jinchuuriki then converged on Gaara. Fū slammed him in the face, only to watch it extend away and then return to shape. Yugito raked her claws down his front, leaving glass furrows in the sand armor. Kirabi sliced down Gaara's right arm and watched the sand fall off of it. Gaara screamed in pain. Suddenly the area where they stood turned into a sand column.

-----------

Orochimaru was scowling, because his tight plan had been setup so that he wouldn't have to deal with his fellow Sannin. Now Tsunade was fighting her grandfather, Sarutobi was fighting the Second Hokage and worst of all. It appeared that the Fourth Hokage was playing tag with his teacher, Jiraiya. He had dispatched several ANBU while others had captured his fabled 'Sound Four'. Tsunade had done more to destroy his plan than anyone else. She had broken the barrier, by taking the floor right out from under his men. Killing the old man was still on his mind, but something wasn't right about the Fourth Hokage, he didn't seem to be fighting to his full potential. He hadn't even used his famed 'Yellow Flash' technique.

There were a few things to be happy about though. Gaara was finally releasing Shukaku and there were other jinchuuriki in the stadium. This would help destroy the village in just collateral damage. The damage to the stadium was becoming grand and this excited him. The Kyuubi brat appeared to have done some damage to Gaara, but he appeared to be out of the picture now. He couldn't tell because of the other jinchuuriki. There was just too much demon chakra floating around the stadium. He did notice the Raikage, but dismissed him, because he was more worried about fighting in the stadium than what was happening in the Kage's box.

A yellow flash before his eyes caused him to come out of his daydreaming. He moved his right arm up in front of him to block the light, but felt pain and the light wasn't blocked. He opened his eyes to see his left arm missing from the upper forearm down. He then noticed Minato standing in front of him with a bloody kunai.

"You're a fool Orochimaru. The death god has possession of my soul, so your little jutsu can't work on me and for the price your arm I can now stay. The more pieces I offer the less control you'll have on the former Hokages," Minato explained.

Orochimaru went wide eyed and then jumped back only to lose more of his arm. He now was missing his elbow. "Damn you Namikaze," he said in a seething voice.

"Oh, by the way, there is no way to repair this damage. You're stuck with losing your soul a piece at a time," Minato said happily.

He looked for his arm only to see it turn black and turn to ash. He jumped back and threw several explosive notes. He turned to run, only to fell a sharp pain in his right wrist. He ignored the pain and jumped to another roof. He quickly sank into the roof and disappeared.

Tsunade looked at her grandfather, who had stopped attacking and wore a confused look on his face. She looked around and saw Jiraiya and Minato pulling a kunai with a seal from her Grand-uncle's head only to replace it with another. A body slowly slid out of her grand-uncle's body.

The two men moved over to the first and repeated the process. A girl fell out of her grandfather's body. She captured the body. Minato, Sarutobi and Jiraiya repeated the process with Minato. A second girl fell from Minato's body. All three people wore Sound headbands and were breathing, but unconscious.

--------

Orochimaru met up with one of his lead elements, which Kabuto was leading. "Kabuto, we need to retreat for now," he exclaimed, gasping for breath.

Kabuto looked at Orochimaru and saw him missing his right hand and his left arm to the bicep. "What happened, Orochimaru-sama?" he asked in a concerned voice.

"That trice damned Fourth Hokage. He ruined things yet again," Orochimaru said, while he and Kabuto headed back towards the gates of Konoha.

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A loud roar penetrated the stadium, sending debris away from where Naruto had been buried. Shukaku looked down to see the form a three tailed fox made up of chakra. The eyes opened wide seeing a ball of condensed chakra shot at his body. The chakra hit the side of Shukaku and went straight through, it also created a vacuum effect, thus pulling the sand from that side of the demon out through the other side of the monster. Shukaku then felt its right front leg go numb. It turned to see that its leg had been turned to glass. The final straw to break Gaara from the sleep jutsu that he had done was hundreds of insects biting Gaara all over his upper torso. "No, I've only just come out! It isn't fair!" Shukaku roared before the sand of the monster began to fall and Gaara was in free fall.

------------

The Raikage and his group had cleaned out half the stadium. The other half was cleared because no one wanted to get in the fight between the jinchuuriki. "So that is what they can do only with three tails. Why didn't my brother tell me that, so that I can evacuate the area he's training in?" he asked in disbelief.

"Looks like the gaki can do some damage. Let's get down there and make sure he's okay," Anko said to no one in particular.

"No, we go now!" Zabuza yelled, as he pointed and then disappeared.

The area he pointed at now held several groups of Suna and Oto shinobi, all heading towards the jinchuuriki.

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Naruto felt terrible, his body ached in areas he didn't know that could hurt. He was also drained. He noticed the Kyuubi's chakra dissipating, along with the other demon chakra with the other jinchuuriki. He then felt a presence behind him. He unsheathed his sword just in time to block another sword from a Suna shinobi attempting to cut his head off. Even with his breathing labored, he knew the fight wasn't over just yet.

He noticed his reactions were slowed and with his strength waning, he wanted to make sure he survived this encounter. He pushed Wind chakra into his sword and began to parry the attacks from the Suna shinobi. He then saw a whirling ball of lighting, it passed by several Sound shinobi, only for them to fall to the ground spewing blood from multiple cuts. Naruto then concentrated back on his own opponent. He did notice that the shinobi was using Wind chakra to enhance his own blade. Naruto struck for the head only to be blocked. He then fainted towards the leg, only to bring up the blade and split his opponent's face with the tip of his sword. The man fell backwards, dead before he hit the ground. Naruto then used his blade to deflect several kunai, but missed three, one to his left shoulder, one to his right leg and the last hit him in the left chest just left of the heart. He could tell that it did hit his lung, but he returned to a defensive stance. He then raised his sword above his head and brought it down in a slicing motion, while saying "Wind Scar."

A single visible crescent of wind cut two of the Sound shinobi in two. Naruto's vision began to turn into a black tunnel, from either the exertion or him running low on chakra. He steeled himself to fight on, but didn't know how much more he could take. He felt a body hit him and take him several meters away from where he was and then the two bodies rolled. He barely heard the explosion that soon followed.

He looked up to see a concerned Fū looking down on him. She looked haggard, but otherwise she was fine. He saw her lips moving, but couldn't seem to figure out what she was saying. He noticed a shadow forming behind Fū and pulled out a kunai and threw it at the shadow to be rewarded by the body of a dead Sound shinobi falling at their feet.

Fū turned and saw the body of the Sound shinobi and stood up to take a defensive stance. She knew that Naruto had passed his limit by a long shot. She had hit hers and was going to be down for the count like Naruto was if help didn't arrive anytime soon. She had tried to ask him if he was 'okay', but she could only see his glazed over eyes. She was happy that he could still react to danger and remove said danger from an ally. She pulled out several kunai and charged them with chakra. She then threw them at several enemy shinobi. Of the five targets only one got away unscathed. One died with a kunai to the head, the other three didn't anticipate that the kunai were charged with chakra and thought a simple deflection would save them, but all three were hit by a kunai. She called her bug allies to help her and they came out in four swarms and headed directly towards the enemies. The bugs blocked the view of the carnage that they wrought upon the enemy shinobi.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Naruto make several attempts to get back up and each attempt failed miserably. Had the situation not been so dire she would have laughed. She then saw him throw a kunai in her direction. It glanced off of an incoming kunai that she had missed watching Naruto. She mentally thanked him for the save and directed her bugs towards her assailant.

Yugito watched the fight out of the corner of her eye, since she was holding the barely conscious Gaara. She wanted to join the fight, but understood her position with making sure that Shukaku didn't come out and play yet again. She watched with concern, as Naruto had gone all out even after pulling out his third tail at such a young age. She watched him attempt to rise, only to fall. She smiled warmly when she saw him use a kunai to save Fū's life. She glanced over at her husband and smirked at the carnage he was doing to the enemies. He had taken out about twenty enemies, but was showing signs that his fatigue was going to catch up with him.

Suddenly a shout of "Hurricane of Ice," was heard.

Suddenly the last of the enemies were engulfed in a storm of wind and ice. She turned to see the girl Haku, holding her hands up and a stream of ice particles originating from her hands. The enemy's screams were shut out by the force of the winds. The girl collapsed into the arms of the girl she had just recently fought, Hinata. Yugito smiled warmly at the camaraderie that the two girls possessed. She looked over where the enemies were and saw that they were all dead and the area was covered in ice and blood. 'That girl is very powerful,' she thought to herself.

The Raikage ran over and checked on Kirabi, who seemed a little unsteady on his feet. Raijin check up on his mother and looked apathetically at Gaara, who seemed to be sliding in and out of consciousness. Hinata brought Haku to lay her beside Naruto who had finally lost his battle with unconsciousness. Nijiko continued to survey the area for more combatants. Zabuza and Anko left the area to find more sport. They said something about having to catch up with Haku in kills. Yugito laughed at the pair's antics.

She turned and saw the Hokage, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and three men she could have sworn were dead appear with three other individuals on their shoulders. "Greetings, Hokage, Raikage. I report that the jinchuuriki of Shukaku the Ichibi has been subdued," Yugito said, while she showed the barely conscious Gaara on her shoulder to the men.

The Raikage walked over to the Hokage and extended his hand, which he took. "I must say you run a very exciting chuunin exam Hokage-dono," he said with much mirth.

Sarutobi chuckled at this, but said in his defense, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, but this wasn't planned. Are any of your people injured?"

The Raikage looked at his people and at the others and shook his head. "Nothing too severe. We can patch my brother up and we should be fine. I would like to compliment your genin, especially your jinchuuriki and the two girls that accompanied us around the stadium," he said proudly.

"So you would recommend them for chuunin, Raikage-dodo?" Sarutobi asked with a grin.

The Raikage smiled broadly and said, "Most definitely."

---------

Hinata and Haku watched, as Tsunade gently picked up Naruto in her arms and began to walk towards the exit. The group then followed her lead and left the stadium. They noticed sporadic fighting around the village, but also saw that it was being quickly dealt with as it occurred.

'Allowing the jounin that was tailing Kabuto to appear to be dead, along with the absence of the Sanin did wonders in making the enemy troops think that they had the upper hand and thus made huge mistakes and helped us with the coming victory over the Sound, Sand Alliance. Now with the Sand siblings in custody and with all four of the Hokages present, Konoha just might be standing on a golden age. The things that bother me the most are how and why did Minato get away from the Shinigami? His explanation didn't quite fit,' Sarutobi thought to himself, while the group headed for the Hokage's tower, to both help direct the defense and also figure out what was actually going on. Naruto slept blissfully unaware of what was going on.

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A/N: Well here is the invasion, sorry for the quick ending, I might come back and do a little revision, but it would be adding more to it. To those of you, who are diehard Naruto/Sakura fans, please understand that some of your fellows are threatening writers for not liking my choices in pairing. This is troubling in several ways. First they are using bullying tactics to try to silence others opinions. Second, my opinion in this story rules, sorry but that is how it goes. I write it, you read it or you ignore it.

I have stated my opinion on Sakura several times in my stories. I also have problems with her on a personal level, which I won't go into, but be assured that the character, Sakura, is only a character and if I put her down, it is because it works for my story. The Sakura of cannon is not a nice girl, in my opinion, enough said. So on to the reader reviews.

SpiritWolf32: Nijiko is a young girl and is being given choices, so she is looking around. Whether she takes one offer or another is up to her (the writer), but she is more playful with guys than serious.

The Epitome of Eccentricity: I would love for you to give me some specific examples. It would help. My betas have done what they can for me.

Next chapter: Aftermath…


	17. Chapter 17 Aftermath…

Disclaimer: huh? Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and I don't claim ownership of said intellectual properties. Simply put… this is fanfiction and I own squat…

A/N: for those of you who wondered about the other jounin in the chuunin exams, it was Jiraiya in a henge.

Chapter 17 – Aftermath…

There was loud arguing heard in the council chamber and absolutely nothing was getting done. Finally Sarutobi cleared his throat and released a fair amount of killing intent. This was enough to quiet most everyone except for a civilian. "What is the meaning of this? Bringing in some Hokage lookalikes," Haruno Baika said angrily.

The former Hokages glared at the woman, but wanted Sarutobi to handle this. "Councilwoman Haruno, you hold your tongue until you have been apprised of the situation. Do I make myself clear?" he asked angrily and his tone told her that he wouldn't accept a 'no' for an answer. "Now then, thanks to Orochimaru using a forbidden jutsu and the Fourth, being able to counter act it we have our former Hokages back and three captives. We also have the children of the Yondaime Kazekage in custody. The first thing we need to discuss is how we are going to rebuild after this battle. We then will proceed to the point of selecting chuunin from the exams and after that we will discuss the status of the Hokages," he said authoritatively.

The next half hour was taken up with discussion on how to rebuild and how funds would be used for such. After that the Raikage and several jounin were ushered into the room.

"What is the Raikage doing here?" Baika asked with a sneer on her face and with an annoying tone to her voice.

The dark-skinned man glared at the woman. "Is this how Konoha treats visiting dignitaries?" he asked with a raised eyebrow at Sarutobi.

Sarutobi, Minato, Hashirama, and Tobirama all glared at the woman. "My apologies Raikage-dono, for we usually don't have the council speak to dignitaries. For the life of me, I can't figure out why," Sarutobi said sarcastically, but got a round of chuckles from the other council members, former Hokages and the Raikage. "Now if you will please apologize, Mrs. Haruno."

Baika began to sweat, but stood and bowed. "My humblest apologies Raikage-dono," she said with a quivering voice, because of the stifling aura in the room given off by the Kages and the clan heads.

The Raikage growled, but said, "I accept your apology, but for this slight we demand to be reimbursed for this slight."

Hiashi smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. 'That woman is going to cost this village a lot if she can't figure out how to keep her mouth shout,' he thought to himself.

"We will discuss that later Raikage-dono," Sarutobi said in an attempt to bring the meeting back on to the subject at hand.

The Raikage nodded and sat down. "Agreed Hokage-dono," he said with a smirk on his face.

"First order of business is the punishment for Uchiha Sasuke for his tardiness, among other things," Sarutobi announced.

Tsunade stood with a large grin on her face and said, "He is to have his shinobi license suspended for no less than six months. He will also be paying reparations to those chuunin hopefuls that he caused injury too by his late arrival. Three hours is an eternity on the battlefield and as such he will also be sent back to the academy for those six months to receive training about how his actions could affect his comrades."

"Isn't that a little harsh for only being three hours late?" Baika asked.

Tsunade sat down and folded her hands together in front of herself. She then smiled and said, "Be happy I didn't recommend that he be stricken from the whole program, Haruno."

Baika stood and looked at the Sarutobi with contempt in her eyes. "How is it that the Senju are passing judgment on Sasuke-sama when they weren't an injured party?" she asked angrily.

"It was up to me to decide on his punishment, but in her family not being an injured party you're wrong. Her son, Naruto, was injured not only in the exams, but before that. So I left it up to the Senju, Tsunade in particular, to decide his punishment, before it became a clan war, which the Uchiha would surly lose, if only in numbers," Sarutobi explained.

Baika sat down with a huff, but didn't say anything more.

"Another punishment for Sasuke is that he will not be able to achieve the rank of chuunin for this exam," Sarutobi said to several gasps from the room. He continued while ignoring the murmur from several council members, "While he is a skilled genin, his tardiness shows that he isn't ready to be a chuunin. This is a final decision that the Raikage, the Daimyo, and the jounin all agree with. If you oppose this please give your reasons for your opposition." He looked directly at Baika, who seemed to shrink in her chair, but offered no rebuttal.

"Now then, let's get on to the other participants. Uzumaki Hinata, her performances was quite spectacular and she was able to hold her own in several hard situations. She did give up in a situation where she could have fought on, but would have more than likely lost. I recommend her for promotion, do I have a second?" Sarutobi asked and saw a slew of hands raised. "Given the support for this…" he began to say, but was interrupted.

"Why is she being referred to as Uzumaki instead of Hyuuga?" Baika asked with a confused look on her face.

Hiashi lowered his head in shame, but replied, "The Hyuuga clan disowned her and she took up the name of Naruto-san. That is all I will say. But as the head of the Hyuuga clan I second the choice of her being promoted."

The clan heads knew some of what was going on, so they said nothing. The civilian portion of the council took the news in stride and also said nothing.

Sarutobi nodded and then continued, "Hyuuga Neji?"

"I believe he isn't quite ready, he's close, but not quite there yet," Shikaku said quietly.

This was also the general consensus of those present.

"Momochi Haku?" Sarutobi asked.

"She is amazing, we should allow her to go straight to being on the council!" a male council member replied.

"She is already spoken for and will not be on the council unless she is taking over for said head. So should she be promoted" Sarutobi asked. The general consensus was an overwhelming 'yes'. This question and answer was continued down the list, but they skipped Naruto's name until the end. In the end Shino, Shikamaru, Fū, Nijiko, and Raijin were also promoted.

"I saved this person for the end because his name will cause a lot of commotion. Senju Uzumaki Naruto…" Sarutobi said.

"While skilled he didn't show what was needed for a chuunin," Baika said out flat without any emotions.

Tsunade and the Raikage both laughed out loud. The Raikage looked at the woman and smirked. "That boy has enough to be a jounin. He showed both leadership, during the exams and afterwards. Even a couple of my jounin agree with me on this one and they took orders from a mere genin. Along with that he appears to have control if not mastery of at least three elements and can summon. So if this council doesn't offer him a chuunin promotion… I will in offer him a special jounin position in Kumo," he said with a huge grin.

The civilian portion of the council gaped at this point. He had declared that he would offer Naruto, the bane of Konohagakure no Sato, a position as special jounin in Kumogakure no Sato.

"You would deny my son, but offer a promotion to an ungrateful child like Uchiha Sasuke?" Tsunade asked.

"Uchiha Sasuke is powerful and thus should be promoted," Baika replied in an arrogant tone.

Tsunade turned to the former Hokages and asked, "Would you guys like to move to Kumo with my son?"

All three nodded to the question, much to the amazement of the council.

"That is treason, Tsunade!" Baika shouted at the Sannin.

"Maybe for me, but not for them, they're already dead," she said with a straight face.

"You would abandon your village for that… that… demon… ack…" Baika said only to find herself held up against the wall by the Fourth Hokage.

"You will never refer to my son as such again or your life is forfeit. Do I make myself clear?" Minato said with anger held in his cold blue eyes. She could only nod agreement. She was dropped to the floor in a heap and left by the parting Hokage. He also glared at Hiashi, as he returned to his seat.

Several people gasped in the room at this revelation. Suddenly a voice roared over the council chambers. "Why weren't we told about this?" Danzo asked.

"For his safety. This is an issue we will cover after the decision on his promotion. I also assure you that you will be fair in deciding his promotion. If you give it to him because of what you just learned he will leave the village in anger, more than likely to accept the offer from Kumo after retiring from Konoha. He will also be taking Uzumaki Hinata, Mitarashi Anko, Momochi Haku and Zabuza, along with the three former Hokages. So think hard and tell me your decision," Sarutobi said with the threat lingering in the air.

The final vote was to promote him and none thought to promote him because of his family. They decided his merit on his leadership and abilities. There were a few dissenting opinions, but in the end they failed to sway any other votes against Naruto's promotion. Having five Kages on your side also helped a little.

The Raikage excused himself and went back to his hotel and the meeting continued.

"Now for the status of the former Hokages," Sarutobi said.

"Why doesn't the Fourth take back over as Hokage and we can allow you to retire Hokage-sama," Baika said in a pleasant tone.

Minato glared at the woman, but then spoke, "Why in the name of the Nine hells would I want to take that job back? Most of you aren't worth the sacrifice that I gave. Especially given how you treated my son."

Tsunade gave and look at Minato for him to 'simmer down', which he did. She then said, "Your crimes are worse than you first imagined. And you're punishment is going to be worse also, because I've accepted the position of Hokage. Sarutobi-sensei will be retiring. I will be the Fifth Hokage and we're going to be cleaning house."

Many on the council blanched. "First off, crimes against my son will be dealt with quickly. Baika, you're going to go through your ledger books and find all the monies that were stolen from Naru-chan. The rest of the council will be going through the books of the business that Naruto can identify and they will be paying him back. Now as for my grandfather and great-uncle, they are going to go into hiding for a little while and may not return. This is a shinobi matter and doesn't need the civilians on the council to put their noses into it. Do I make myself clear?" she asked while looking every member in the eye. The shinobi members nodded understanding, but the civilians would swallow hard before they nodded.

"All right the civilians are dismissed and you, Danzo, I would like a personal word with you after we're done in the next meeting," she said in a rather flat tone.

Danzo nodded his understanding. "Will you need me for this next meeting or not?" he asked.

Tsunade shook her head at this question. "I won't need any of the elders at the moment, all three of you are dismissed," she said, as Danzo, Homura, and Koharu all got up and left the council chambers.

Minato then turned to Tsunade when was sure the door was close and said, "So mom, how is he doing?"

Most of the council gasped at this revelation. Tsunade looked around the chamber and asked, "What? I can't have a child?"

Minato chuckled at the jab at the shinobi in the chamber. 'Talk about seeing underneath the underneath,' he thought to himself.

"Naruto-chan is doing fine, he was a little annoyed at you about what you did for a while, but he is over it now. As you can tell my grandson is doing well and even has two wives in waiting for when Hinata turns sixteen," Tsunade explained.

Minato whistled. "So he's got two, I was afraid that he wouldn't even get one. That is why I made arrangements with the Hyuuga," he explained.

"About that…" Hiashi hesitantly said. "The clan branded Hinata with the cage bird seal and has used it once against her. She knows about her betrothal and is ecstatic about it. I've attempted to reprimand the clan council, but have had no luck because it is a 'clan' matter," he explained in a dejected tone.

"Well now they have another clan that is involved. So you sealed the Kyuubi into my great-great-great grandchild?" Hashirama asked.

"Yes, sorry grandfather, but someone summoned it and I had little choice in the matter. Naruto was one of the children available, but I couldn't use anyone else's child. Also, I couldn't seem to pin down this person and fight him on equal footing. He had a spiral mask and an Uchiha eye," Minato explained.

"Sounds like my old adversary Madara. He could summon the Kyuubi, but either of us could control it. I thought I killed him when we fought all those years ago," Hashirama said in a confused tone.

"So that is why the Kyuubi attacked?" Tsume asked to no one in particular.

"And your son has paid the price for it ever since," Shikaku said in a bored tone.

Minato, Hashirama and Tobirama all raised an eyebrow. "Along with the harsh treatments that most jinchuuriki get, Naruto-chan has been given a short shrift for everything from merchandise to training. Also the Uchiha boy that we sanctioned earlier tried to kill Naruto and take one of his brides-to-be," Tsunade explained.

Minato grinded his teeth and said angrily, "That boy has been given too much in the way of privileges. But there is a more important issue at hand. Unless the three of us can kill Orochimaru in the next six months we are going to die yet again. So will the captives. Even then we will be only given a decade to live at the most." He then looked around and asked, "Where are Kushina-chan and Hana-chan?"

Tsunade's face turned sour and she said, "Both were killed during Naruto-chan's early childhood. Kushina died of poisoning, and Hana died in a fire. As far as I can tell, the Uchiha were behind it, but I can't rule out the elders or others." She looked around the room to see shocked expressions. She then continued, "There is also the matter of yours and Kushina's clan holdings being pilfered by the council and others."

Minato slammed his fist down on the table, sending a crack through the table. "So it wasn't enough that I sacrificed my life and my son's for this village? They thought they could take what wasn't theirs. What has Naruto done about this?" he asked.

Tsunade chuckled and said, "Naruto-chan, said he's going to pull funds from the village. Especially after what he council did during the chuunin exams. That and they keep on dragging their feet about reparations from the Uchiha for the assaults. They don't want Sasuke to be destitute."

Minato growled and glared at Sarutobi. "When I find out everything, I might end up killing that child," he explained.

The discussions continued for the next several hours.

-------------

Sasuke glared at the trio of old people sitting before him. "What do you mean I'm not going to be chuunin? You said I was assured the rank for even showing up," he said angrily.

"You should have followed the orders of the jounin, instead of attacking the Suna jinchuuriki," Koharu explained.

"So that is the dobe's secret. He's the Kyuubi," Sasuke said under his breath.

"Now you can't spread this information or you will be imprisoned or worse," Homura said in a serious tone.

"Like what? I'm the last loyal Uchiha and they need the Sharingan," Sasuke said in an arrogant tone.

Homura glared at the teen. "You know there are other ways to recreate your clan and you would have little say in how the clan is brought back," he said in a threatening tone.

A shiver ran down Sasuke's spine. "What do you mean?" he asked in a worried tone, with a look of concern on his face.

"We could extract the seed and impregnate females without your consent," Koharu explained, as Sasuke paled at this possibility.

"If you were willing, I'm sure we can get you some training if that is what you need," Danzo said.

Koharu and Homura glared at Danzo for interrupting their speech.

"What about the returned Hokages? Won't they want a say in how things are run and why didn't I get a promotion?" Sasuke asked.

"We already explained this too you Sasuke-san. You're tardiness cost you your promotion, added to that you directly disobeyed an order from a superior. These things can be done, but only if you had questioned it instead of charging headlong into the fight," Koharu explained.

"Hn… So what is this training you're talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"We will condition both your mind and body, along with teaching you appropriate jutsu," Danzo explained.

Sasuke cocked his head and looked at Danzo with confusion. "What do you mean by 'appropriate'?" he asked.

"You will find out when you are at that stage. For now you will continue to do your normal routine and we will contact you," Danzo said authoritatively.

Sasuke nodded and replied, "Yeah, sure, whatever…"

-------------

Naruto woke to a familiar feeling of warmth. He knew this feeling because both of his arms were pinned to the bed by a female body each. He looked to see the sleeping form of Hinata and Haku snuggled up to him. He smiled and then heard a voice speak.

"Looks like they will be happy that you're awake," Tsunade said quietly from the doorway.

He noticed that he wasn't in either the hospital or their apartment.

Tsunade noticed the confusion and said, "This is your room in the Senju compound, Naru-chan. Also you father would like to talk to you. He's down stairs on the couch."

Naruto slowly extracted himself from his fiancés. Tsunade smiled warmly at the sight of the whimpers from the two girls when Naruto left them and headed down stairs.

Naruto sat down on the couch across from his father with a silly grin on his face. Minato was confused by his son's actions, so he asked, "Why are you grinning so wide?"

Naruto began to chuckle and then said, "Kaasan and Ero-sennin used that couch to do the wild thing before the exams." He began to break out in full blown laughter when Minato sprung from the couch like it was on fire.

"Great, now I have an image of my mother and father having sex on a couch," Minato explained, as he sat down beside his son.

"So she's my grandmother?" Naruto asked innocently.

"You know that you are, brat," Tsunade said playfully.

"So when is my uncle or aunt do?" Naruto asked in a playful voice.

"About eight months," Tsunade said with a smile on her face.

"So you're given me a sibling?" Minato asked and Tsunade nodded. He then turned to Naruto and said, "I'm sorry for giving you such a burden, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked up at his father with a blank expression that morphed into a myriad of emotions. "Dad, I'm going to frank with you. I'm not sure if I should be angry at you or happy that my hero was and is my own father. I just want to know why you didn't set things up for me," Naruto said in a dejected tone.

Minato sighed and said, "I left some instruction with Sarutobi and your grandfather, who by the way is your also godfather. I was counting on both your mother and your aunt to see you through any difficulties." He raised his hand and then continued, "I looked at the reports, all of them. The first set painted some things on the Uchiha and others as the culprits. The latest reports show that it was a little more widespread than just the Uchiha, but they were at the center of it all."

Naruto growled and clenched his fists. "I knew there was a reason why I didn't like Sasuke-teme," he said, as he growled out 'teme'.

Minato chuckled, as Tsunade giggled. This caught Naruto's attention. "The Senju and the Uchiha have a history that goes way back… a couple hundred years to be exact. It all started with the Sage of the Six Paths. His two sons were the founders of the Senju and the Uchiha clans and they've been fighting ever since. I'm not sure of the exact reasons for them fighting, but that is how it has been," he explained.

Naruto wore a look of confusion and then asked, "So it's in my genetic makeup to fight against Sasuke?"

Minato scratched his head and then said, "You could look at it that way or you could look at it another way. The philosophy of the Senju is different from that of the Uchiha. They believe that the strong has the right to rule by force and that the weak have to follow. The Senju on the other hand believe that the job of the strong is to protect the weak."

Naruto nodded at the explanation.

"So bow down to your new Hokage…" Tsunade said with a little too much mirth.

Naruto looked at her in confusion and asked, "What do you mean Kaasan?"

"To help you and the village of our forefathers, I agreed to become Hokage," she explained.

Naruto brightened up at this, but then scowled.

"What I thought you'd be happy about the old man stepping down and someone with some sanity returning to the post of Hokage," Tsunade said with a confused look on her face.

Naruto shook his head and said, "It isn't that. It's just… I don't want to be seen as me getting favors because I'm your," he raised his hands and made quotation marks with his hands, "son. I just want to get to where I'm going on my own merit. If I can attain Hokage that way then I'll be happier than if I got it because of who I'm related too."

Tsunade and Minato began to laugh heartily. "You think because I'm your mother that I'm going to let you have the easy path? Yeah right. Tell me another one," she said happily.

"So did we make chuunin?" Naruto asked with an inquisitive look written all over his face.

Tsunade smirked and said, "Ah, ah. I can't tell that until we reveal this after I take the reins of Hokage. By the way, your team will have a mission tomorrow, so go light on the training. We have a lot of work to do cleaning up after the invasion."

Naruto nodded understanding. He then turned to Tsunade and asked, "So what are we going to do with the Kazekage's children?"

"That is up to Sensei and the council to decide. Oh by the way, you're invited to the council meeting, since you're going to be the new Senju clan head, at least for council meetings that is," Tsunade explained.

"But that would mean…" Naruto began to say, but was interrupted.

"I can't say, but your father is sitting in as clan head for this meeting," Tsunade said as she put a finger to his lips to quiet him down.

"Now go get ready and we will go to the meeting, since it starts in a couple hours," Minato said.

Naruto went upstairs to get ready for a council meeting, and ran into both the First and Second Hokages. "Hello little one. We have much to talk about after the council meeting, Naru-chan," Hashirama said happily as both the older men passed by Naruto on their way down the stairs.

Naruto walked into the room only to find two scantily clad females only in their panties. He blushed and turned, as he closed the door. "Girls…" he said with much trepidation.

Both girls giggled, as they continued to dress. "How many times have you seen us naked Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

Naruto shrugged and replied, "I don't know." Naruto took his shirt off, but suddenly he felt something touch his back in two spots. He then felt slender arms wrap around him and suddenly he understood that one of the girls was hugging him without a shirt on. Naruto turned beet red at this.

"My Naruto-kun… If you like that, then you certainly will enjoy our wedding night," Haku said in a sultry voice. Naruto promptly passed out.

Hinata giggled at this, as the door opened and Haku turned around. "Are you girls teasing your fiancé?" Tsunade asked, as she came into the room and closed the door. Both girls nodded and finished dressing before taking Naruto to the bathroom. They watched, as he woke up and then proceeded to clean himself. He did this quietly and without a word. They weren't sure if it was the hot water or Haku's forwardness that gave Naruto's body a light pink tone.

Naruto dressed in a simple white kimono with the Senju emblem on the collar. He then kissed the girls goodbye, since he knew they would be along a little later. Naruto, Minato, Tsunade, Tobirama and Hashirama all headed to the council chambers. Naruto began to fidget with the cloak similar to Minato's that was folded in his hands, since he hoped the girls would also be at the council chambers.

"Stop that Naru-chan. It's unbecoming of you. If you get this promotion you will take the seat for me when I become Hokage," Tsunade explained. Naruto nodded and stopped his fidgeting.

A few minutes later all four entered the council chambers. Minato showed Naruto to a set of seats behind the chair that Tsunade sat down in. He looked around and saw all the familiar faces. He growled at Kakashi and Baika who seemed to be chatting like old friends.

Minato looked between Naruto and Kakashi, with a confused look on his face. "Naruto-kun? Why are you growling at Kakashi-kun?" he asked, with confusion evident in his voice.

Naruto's eyes changed from blue round pupils to cat like pupils with slits for pupils. "That man protected teme when he slit my throat," Naruto explained with a growl.

Minato wiped the astonished look off of his face and it turned to a devious grin. "Want to see him sweat bullets, Naruto-kun?" he asked with said grin. Naruto nodded and let Minato continue, "You're going to love this." He turned to Kakashi and said, "Kakashi-kun, please come over here if you would."

Kakashi looked at Minato, nodded and said, "Sure sensei." He got up and walked over to the two blondes and smiled, which was evident in his eye. "Hello Naruto. What can I do for you Sensei?" he asked happily.

Minato extended his hand over towards Naruto and said, "I would like to present my son, Uzumaki-Senju-Namikaze Naruto."

Kakashi went rigid and his single eye went wide. He began to shake and pointed a shaking finger at Naruto. "He's you son?" he asked in a stuttering voice.

Minato smiled and replied, "Why yes. Who else would I use to insure that the Kyuubi wouldn't escape? Some unknown orphan?"

Kakashi shook his head and then a light entered his eye. It then saddened at what he had done. "I…" he began to say.

"Kakashi-kun, my son, while angry with you isn't that mad at you. Well, actually he is. For one who is said to be a great shinobi, you seem to have overlooked what is obvious," Minato explained.

"Minato-kun…" Baika sang to Minato, who rolled his eyes. The woman sauntered over to the meeting and glared at Naruto in his kimono. "What is this 'brat', doing here?" she asked angrily.

Minato smiled sweetly and Kakashi knew things were going to go bad. "He is my son and heir to the Senju clan. I'm standing in for the Senju for this meeting and if he is made chuunin then he can take his place as the head of the Senju clan, when his mother retires," he explained.

Shikamaru, the girls and the other chuunin named entered the room and sat at the side of the council table. Sarutobi cleared his throat and said, "If we can get this meeting to order."

Everyone took their seats other than Minato who sat behind Tsunade.

"Now for our first order of business… will all of the chuunin hopefuls that were summoned please come forward and face this council?" Sarutobi asked.

Naruto stood smiling between a glowing Hinata and Haku. Fū winked at Shikamaru who smiled kindly at the girl. Shino, Nijiko, and Raijin all stood at attention.

"I would like to congratulate all of you in making chuunin. Your results will be forwarded to your villages Fū and Raijin, to let them know that you have succeeded in your goal of becoming chuunin. As for the Konoha shinobi, congratulations are in order and thank you all for your help in defending and afterwards. You are all dismissed except for the Konoha shinobi," Sarutobi said. The others nodded and left the room along with the Raikage, who was patting Raijin on the back.

"Now to inform you about some secrets of the village, so that you can better do your job. Naruto, could you explain the incident on your birthday?" Sarutobi asked.

Naruto glared at the Hokage, but then nodded. "Thirteen years ago the Kyuubi attacked Konoha no Sato. My father was able to defeat the beast by sealing it within myself," he explained, but there was no gasp like he had suspected. So he continued, "I have the Kyuubi sealed within myself and thus am a jinchuuriki. This is the reason I have not been much liked by the general population of Konoha."

"So let me get this straight. You've got two secrets?" Shikamaru asked, as Naruto nodded. He then continued, "So we're supposed to keep both of them secret?"

Sarutobi nodded, but Baika spoke up quickly, "He's not the son of our beloved Fourth Hokage!"

Naruto growled at the woman, but saw a glimmer in both Tsunade's and Minato's eyes. "You deny that even with a blood test that he is the son of Minato-kun here?" she asked with a smirk.

"How dare you refer to MY Minato-kun in such a way," Baika said in an angry tone.

Minato began to laugh, not a small laugh, but a gut wrenching laugh and promptly fell out of his chair. "You… think… that… I'm… yours?" he laughed out and then became suddenly serious. He then turned to the woman and glared at her. "You have nothing to offer the Senju or Namikaze line and I already told you not to disrespect my son," he said coldly, as many gasps were heard around the room.

He smiled broadly like a predator eyeing its prey. "You now understand that I'm a Senju. So are you going to whore yourself out to me and your daughter out to the Uchiha brat?" he asked, while most of the men around the room snickered at her. He then continued, while he moved his pointed finger around the room, "I'm glad that the 'Will of Fire' burns so strongly in him, for if it hadn't you all would be dead. He would have released the Kyuubi upon you with all the abuse you've given him. Or worse yet, he might have turned into a heartless killer like the Kazekage's son. Jinchuuriki are considered weapons for their villages. The best are usually treated very well and given the best treatment by the shinobi of the village even if they are shunned by the village in general."

"Then I propose a betrothal between Naruto-kun and my Sakura-chan. We all know that he is very smitten with her," Baika said quickly.

Naruto shook his head and said, "I'm already taken and my fiancés wouldn't like to have to deal with a third female, but if you think you can convince them. By all means go ahead and try, Hinata-chan, Haku-chan… What do you say about adding Sakura?"

The room turned colder and Haku's normally brown eyes seemed to glow, while Hinata's eyes activated her Byakugan without her knowing and her fists were clinched tightly. "No way in hell will we allow that bitch to harm our Naruto-kun again," Hinata said in a seething tone.

"I agree with my sister, Hinata-chan. Naruto-kun shall not be subjected to that girl's assaults again," Haku said in an equally icy tone.

"Now, that, that, that is settled. We move on to my retirement and Tsunade's ascension to the role of Hokage," Sarutobi said happily. Several in the room gasped and looked rather worried.

'Good they didn't see this one coming,' Tsunade thought to herself. "I now nominate chuunin Uzumaki-Namikaze-Senju Naruto to take over my position as clan head of the Senju clan," she said happily.

Sarutobi nodded and got out of his chair and headed to a chair behind the one he had vacated. Tsunade took the Hokage's chair and sat down. Everyone turned to Baika who yelled, "He can't take over as clan head! There aren't enough people to allow him to lead the clan!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and calmly said, "So having four Hokages and me, doesn't give us enough people for a clan. Then I move to have the Uchiha stricken of their clan status."

"That is outrageous!" a large merchant yelled at Naruto.

"And why should I not be allowed to be clan head when Sasuke is allowed such even though his traitorous brother would actually be the head of the clan?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke-sama is a loyal shinobi of the leaf and currently Danzo-sama is holding his seat for him, for until he turns chuunin," the merchant replied.

Naruto began to laugh, but then asked, "I've achieved chuunin and yet you still deny me my rightful place as clan head, since my mother is now Hokage and can't hold such a seat?"

Tsunade smirked at the argument between her 'son' and the council member. She then noticed the anger building in the council member's face.

"You're just a monster and have no rights," the merchant said angrily.

Naruto's features began to change. He then approached the council member and asked, "So being a jinchuuriki is like being a monster?" The council member nodded. Naruto then continued, "What would you call, branding a helpless child with seals that would retard his growth, and possibly kill him? Or even possibly destroy the village? I would call those people monsters. The Kyuubi has nothing on humans for the ability to be vindictive and evil. The Kyuubi is more like an animal and uses its instincts. Humans murder for pleasure and for ill gotten gains. Which is more of a monstrosity?"

The large man drew a kunai and clamored over the table at Naruto. Naruto quickly grabbed the hand and threw the man against the wall. He turned to his mother and asked, "Has self-defense been established?"

She nodded, but then said, "Please don't kill him, I would like for him to meet with Ibiki if I could."

Naruto nodded and then turned to the councilman. The man lifted himself off the floor and stumbled towards Naruto, while he said, "I'm going to kill you Kyuubi."

Shikamaru shook his head and said, "Troublesome idiot." His father nodded agreement.

Naruto looked at the man and then grinned broadly. "You need to hold the kunai with a looser grip, but not too loose," he said, as he slapped the man's wrist. An audible snap was heard, as the man dropped to his knees in pain. Naruto picked up the kunai and held the kunai in front of the man. "You see like this. Now you try it. Oh, wait a minute, we'll have to use your off hand for this. Here you go," he said, while putting the kunai in the man's hands.

The man swung the kunai, as soon as Naruto had placed it in his hands. Naruto caught the arm and brought the arm across his leg, thus breaking the man's other arm. "You demon! You've hurt me without reason," the man yelled.

"I established that you were attacking me and I decided to disable you, while making sure that you couldn't hurt me. I'm a chuunin and it isn't a fair fight with a civilian. Now you see the reason why I asked the Hokage if I was defending myself. In such an occasion, I'm allowed to use as much force as needed to disable you. If you hadn't taken the kunai in your other hand you're other arm wouldn't be broken. I don't like to hurt people, but with a sensei like Momochi Zabuza you can't blame me for being a little direct," Naruto explained.

Two ANBU appeared and took the sobbing man away.

Tsunade clapped her hands together and asked, "Now what is the order of business right for the rest of the meeting?"

Naruto took his seat with the help of his father, who glared at anyone who even raised a finger to oppose this from happening.

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A/N: Here is another chapter done and I'm sorry it took so long, but I've been busy with life in general. I'm working on my other stories too, along with a couple new stories. I need to flush out the new stories to see if they are viable and if they pan out I will have a few chapters released soon.


	18. Chapter 18 Events unfold

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… rant… rant… rant… you get the idea…

A/N: This is sort of a filler chapter, but I hope you like it. And yes the next chapter is on the way.

Chapter 18 – Events unfold

Two weeks later in Iwagakure no Sato…

A man knelt before an aged and short man. "Tsuchikage-sama, we've gotten word from Konoha that the Fourth Hokage has returned from the dead, but Tsunade of the Sannin has taken the mantle of Hokage as the Fifth Hokage," the man explained.

The Tsuchikage rubbed his chin, as if in thought, but then asked, "Was there a reason for Minato not taking back the mantle of Hokage?"

"The public was not informed of anything other than he was angry and that he didn't want to take it back. I'm sorry Lord Tsuchikage," he said in a conciliatory voice.

The Tsuchikage chuckled and then said, "Good thing we have a treaty and an arrangement with Konoha so that we don't have to fight him again."

"As you say Tsuchikage, but I'm afraid that some of our younger and more eager shinobi will want to make a name for themselves and try to take down the Fourth Hokage," the man explained.

"Hm… you may be right. I order that no Stone shinobi shall take up arms against Namikaze Minato. His listing as 'flee on sight' is to be maintained. Do I make myself clear?" the Tsuchikage asked.

"Very clear, my lord. I shall pass along your orders. Shall we institute the contingency clause and send Ari?" the man asked.

The Tsuchikage shook his head and said, "No, there is no evidence that there are any heirs to the Namikaze and Ari isn't ready to have a boy pop into her life. Even if there were one, we should only approach it if it is deemed necessary."

"As you wish, my lord, by your leave," the man said and then left the room.

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"No! No! A thousand times, no!" Naruto yelled at his father.

"But Naruto, you don't understand. It is only a political marriage," Minato tried to explain, while Tsunade giggled in the background and the girls glared daggers at the former Hokage.

"I've already got two beautiful women and don't need another. And since they don't know you had an heir, I refuse," Naruto said in a voice that said he was done with the argument and crossed his arms.

"Don't be like Kushina…" Minato said only to find a fist impacting his face.

"What do you mean like my mother? Huh?" Naruto asked angrily.

Minato rubbed his chin and then replied, "She was as stubborn as you're being now."

"I'll bet she stopped you from having more than one wife, right?" Naruto asked.

"That and I loved her dearly," Minato said in a far off tone.

"Good, because I don't want to have to deal with another political marriage, no offense Hinata-chan," Naruto said to Hinata.

Hinata nodded and replied, "It's alright Naruto-kun. I understand and agree."

Naruto sighed and then said, "Look dad, I'm in love with Hinata-chan and Haku-chan. I don't want to short change a girl who I don't even know and for all I know might hate my guts because of you." He then tilted his head to the side and asked, "What were you thinking and how many of these 'arrangements' did you do?"

Minato took on a thinking pose and then said, "Hm… Iwa, Suna, Hyuuga, Yamanaka, Uchiha, and Karama, I think that was all of them."

Tsunade, Naruto, Hinata, and Haku all were speechless. Minato had made arrangements with no less than six families.

Minato looked at the group in confusion, and asked, "What? I thought Kushina and I would have a large family. You Naruto would have wed Hinata-chan and I believe Sabaku no Temari. The next child would have married the Iwa girl and the next would have married an Uchiha girl, and finally the next child would have married a Karama child. See it would have all worked out."

Tsunade growled and said, "Of all the hair-brained, not thought out… I bet Jiraiya put you up to this."

Minato scratched the back of his head and nodded, while laughing nervously.

"Oh Jiraiya-kun…" Tsunade called into the kitchen sweetly.

Jiraiya stuck his head out of the kitchen smiling from ear to ear and not suspecting a thing. "Yes hime? What can I do for you?" he asked happily.

"You're sleeping on the couch tonight!" Tsunade exclaimed.

Jiraiya fell backwards, as his face fell, and then asked, "But why, hime?"

"You gave Minato-kun bad ideas. Like marrying off Naru-chan off to six or so girls across the elemental nations," she explained.

Jiraiya came out of the kitchen and scowled at Minato. "You got Kushina to agree to all of those families?" he asked angrily, only to have Minato to nod. He rolled his eyes and then said, "It was a joke, no one man could deal with that many women with differing temperaments and survive. Not unless it was a harem and the girls knew about it, even then it would have lots of problems. Some student…"

Minato's shoulders sank. "But… but… Kushina-chan liked the idea…" Minato said in almost a pout.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and asked, "When did you ask her this?"

Minato immediately turned jovial and replied, "During her sixth month with Naruto-kun."

"Tsunade-hime, I ask that my bed privileges be returned. It was my son's idiocy, not me who made this mess," Jiraiya said authoritatively.

Tsunade nodded her head and said, "For your stupidity, Minato-kun doesn't get lunch."

Minato grumbled and said under his breath, "I was hoping to make him happy…"

----------

Danzo watched, as Sasuke was working with several of his men. 'He has potential, but I have to be careful or Tsunade will come back and destroy what I have worked for,' he thought to himself and remembered his conversation with Tsunade.

(Flashback)…

Tsunade was rubbing her temples when Danzo walked into the Hokage's office. "You said you wanted to see me after the meeting, Hokage-sama?" he asked respectfully.

Tsunade nodded and then said, "I know that you're going to train the Uchiha boy, but let me tell you something. You will either straighten him out or I will confine him to the mental ward and use him for artificial insemination under the care of the Senju clan to recreate the Uchiha line. He is to fulfill his sentence of going to back to the academy and he 'will' learn to work with others. Do I make myself clear?"

Danzo bowed and nodded. "Abundantly, Lady Hokage. I will attend to his training personally and make sure that he understands the errors in his ways. Is there anything else?" he asked respectfully. She shook her head, so he left only to find Kakashi sitting outside the office as he left. "Be careful Hatake, she's not in a good mood right now."

Kakashi nodded and entered the office. Danzo left to ponder what he was going to do to train the Uchiha boy since it would be suspicious if he were to be entered into the 'Foundation' and subjected to the normal training regimen.

(End Flashback)…

He looked on with his single eye and scowled. "No, Sasuke! Work with the others, so that your coordinated attacks are more effective. If you go into a fight with another who is not as skilled as yourself, but has better teamwork, that team can be victorious and take yours down. Now try again!" he said angrily. Sasuke nodded and returned to his drills, not noticing the three ANBU that the Hokage had sent to keep an eye on Sasuke.

-----------------

"There… that should do it," Naruto exclaimed happily.

Hinata woke suddenly from her position on his lap. She had fallen asleep while Naruto, Minato and Jiraiya all talked about seals on the couches in the Senju's main family room. Naruto noticed her jump and lightly brushed her hair with his hand and smiled warmly down at her. "I think we have the problem solved, my dear hime. We figured out how to remove the seal and put a new better one on, and the best part is that it doesn't allow for people to abuse those with the seal. So are you ready to have that nasty seal removed?" he asked happily.

Hinata nodded, but then became apprehensive. "Will it hurt?" she asked timidly.

"Not sure, but I hope not. We need to get your father to help with this, so that we don't do any damage to you. Do you want the improved seal?" he asked with a wry grin.

She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know…"

"We can put it on at any time. Heck, I'm going to get one along with Haku-chan to keep our Kekkei Genkai protected," he explained.

"Sure if you're going to do it than I will too, Naruto-kun," she replied happily.

About twenty minutes later and a boring, at least to Hinata, discussion on how to remove the 'Caged Bird' seal and then discussion on how apply the new seal and what it did, Hiashi agreed to get the new seal himself. An hour later Hinata was lying on the bed in the medical ward in the Senju compound with a minor headache and a smile that wouldn't stop. The 'Caged Bird' seal had been removed. There was some pain during the removal, but it wasn't as bad as when it was applied. The new seal was on her back and didn't hurt during its application. The lingering headache from the removal was all she had to deal with now and was happy to see Haku and Naruto both sitting beside her bed and holding her hand.

------------

Naruto spent the next day working with Hashirama on his wood bloodline ability. Hinata and Haku worked with Tobirama, while Tsunade and Minato spent the day at the Hokage's office taking care of the paperwork left after the invasion. Minato also had to avoid Baika on several occasions, since the woman still hadn't gotten over her infatuation with Minato. A slug summons informed the five that they had a visitor. Naruto and the girls went to the front of the complex to find Sakura there. She was sporting a bruise on her face and an angry look on her face.

"What do you want Sakura?" Naruto asked in an annoyed tone.

"I'm here to tell you to make your mother train me," she said in a frank tone.

Naruto began to chuckle and put his fist up to his mouth to cover his grin.

"What? Why are your laughing, Naruto-baka?" Sakura asked angrily.

"So, who gave you the shiner?" he asked in a jovial tone.

"Sasuke-kun punched me and told me to get lost. He said that he couldn't train with the team since he had been suspended and that it was your fault," she explained.

Naruto immediately went cold on the girl and said angrily, "Did he also tell you why he was suspended?"

Sakura shook her head and replied, "He only said it had to do with you and why are all three of you wearing chuunin vests? If Sasuke-kun wasn't promoted, you guys shouldn't have been."

The air around the four started to drop significantly. Naruto's eyes blazed a frost blue, while Haku's eyes turned light brown with a cold fire burning behind them. Hinata also glared at the girl, but also took several steps back. Sakura visibly shivered at the drop in temperature and glared at Haku.

"You have no clue who you're dealing with Sakura. Your boyfriend attempted to kill me before the exams and attempted to abduct Haku-chan for breeding purposes. Yes I said 'breeding' purposes. No love, just popping out little Uchiha children against her will," Naruto said angrily, as Sakura noticed all three of their breaths were coming out as steam.

She began to rub her arms to try to create warmth and said, "Your ice bitch should be honored that he would choose her as chattel for breeding. I know that Sasuke-kun would love me and not use me that way."

Naruto laughed and brought his fist up in front of him in a threatening manner. It was covered in ice, much to her surprise. He then swiped his hand down and away from his self as he exclaimed, "Love? His brother saw to it that he doesn't know what love is. Look at yourself. He hit you for Kami sake. He isn't a good seed and needs to have his head put back on straight. He is right now an academy student for the next six months, so that he learns to get a long in a team and be able to work alongside his fellow shinobi. And as for you, you will stop the disrespect of your superiors or you will be on report."

Sakura laughed at Naruto even though she was shivering in almost spasms. "You're not my superior, you're just a baka and don't know anything," she exclaimed.

"For the smartest person in our class, you sure don't know anything. I was excluded or given bad training from the teachers in the academy, thus the reason I was so far behind the rest of the class. As for being your superior, I am a chuunin and you're a genin. Your request for training from my mother is denied. Oh don't worry yourself, you will be reported to the Hokage for disrespecting two chuunin openly," he explained with a grin that sent a chill down her spine, even with her feeling the effects of the reduced temperature.

"Naruto-kun, you and Haku-chan are freezing the ground, could you please ease off a little?" Hinata asked in a worried tone.

"Oh and the timid bitch to round out the group, so are you doing him ye…" Sakura was asking, but fell to the ground with several senbon sticking out of her body.

"I let my team fight their own battles, but if you want to bring me into this fight, then fine. You were already out classed by Naruto-kun, but you had to insult and aggravate Haku-chan. Not a good idea on a good day. Both of them are stronger than I am, but you're weaker than me. Now remember this, Sakura-teme, while you recover from your wounds today in the hospital. Why would Naruto-kun's mother want to help a person who doesn't treat her son nicely?" Hinata asked, as she summoned a slug. She turned to the slug and bowed, while asking, "I apologize for giving you this menial task, but could you take this insufferable girl to the hospital and have her injuries looked at?"

The slug did the best it could of bowing to Hinata and replied, "Of course Hinata-sama, I would be glad to help you in any way I could." Naruto and Hinata placed Sakura on the back of the slug and it took her to the hospital.

Not two minutes later did Kakashi and Sai show up. "So the bi-sexual chuunin has his harem with him," Sai said to the sighs of everyone there.

Haku glared at Sai and said, "For the last time, I'm a girl, not a boy."

Kakashi smiled and said, "Naruto-san, have you seen my wayward student, Haruno Sakura?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Yes we did, she is on her way to the hospital and going to be on report for insubordination," Naruto said in an annoyed tone.

"I hope you didn't order her to do a foursome…" Kakashi said with a leer in his eye.

Naruto growled and said, "No, she was demanding that I have my mother train her and then went into a tirade about Sasuke beating her and it being my fault."

"It wasn't?" Kakashi asked in an almost quizzical tone.

"Oh, that right… you're still on probation for that incident too," Naruto said in a jovial tone.

"Hey, I was only trying to protect my student," Kakashi said in his defense.

"Yea, all the while I was bleeding out and Haku-chan was being abducted by said student. Let's just hope this doesn't come to a clan war, it will be short and fast," Naruto explained.

"Just because you're the son of the Hokage and the son of my sensei, doesn't mean that you can insult my students," Kakashi exclaimed.

"I'm sorry 'sempai', but your students are trouble. Sasuke, has been a thorn in my side for years and Sakura… I'm just glad I don't pine after her anymore," Naruto said.

"You liked 'no chest'?" Sai asked with a smile that looked rather faked.

Naruto frowned, but nodded.

"I don't see why. She's violent and has not appeal as a female," Sai said without any feeling or remorse.

Naruto began to laugh, until Kakashi knelt down and inspected the ground. "Did you turn her into an ice sickle?" he asked in a joking way.

"No, but maybe we should have," Naruto replied in a happy tone.

"Look Naruto-san, I'm sorry that my students are giving you such a hard time. Could you let this one go?" Kakashi asked, pleadingly.

Naruto struck a thinking pose for a minute and then said, "Not going to happen. Sakura blatantly insulted us and told us that she didn't think that we were chuunin and that she wouldn't take orders from us."

Kakashi took his own thinking pose and replied, "I see, then I guess I'll just have to order you not to report this."

"Is that what you really want to do Hatake-san?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi thought about it for a minute and then nodded. "Yes, those are my orders, chuunin," he said authoritatively.

All three chuunin saluted and replied, "Yes, sir."

Kakashi smiled and motioned for Sai to follow. Both left quickly. Naruto looked sullen at his brides-to-be and sighed. "Guess we can't report Sakura-teme," Naruto said.

All three jumped when a voice from behind them said, "But I can." All three turned to see Hashirama smiling the trio. Naruto grinned evilly and nodded.

---------

Kakashi left the room with Sai taking a mission for both of them inside the village. Just as soon as they were gone a head appeared out of the floor and said, "Someone would like to talk to you Hokage-sama." The head was a wooden Naruto, much to the fascination and enjoyment of those in the mission room.

Tsunade turned to the others and said, "If you will excuse me, I have a meeting I need to get to. Iruka, you can hand out the mission scrolls, since they are arranged according to whom I want them to be done by and level."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Iruka said in reply.

Tsunade left the room and entered her office, only to find Naruto's team and her grandfather. "Okay, was that you Naru-chan or you grandfather?"

Hashirama smiled broadly and pointed at Naruto. "He's coming along fine in both his Wood and Ice jutsu training. The Kyuubi allows him to mimic the Ice bloodline," he explained.

Tsunade nodded and then asked, "I'm taking that this isn't a social call to report on training progress?"

Hashirama shook his head and said, "I would like to report an incident with a one Haruno Sakura and also another with a Hatake Kakashi." Tsunade nodded her head in recognition and he continued, "This Sakura girl was going to demand that you train her, but then descended into a bickering match with Naru-chan, Haku-chan and Hinata-chan. Hinata-chan ultimately disabled her and sent her to the hospital, but the girl showed disrespect towards the Senju and the three young chuunin."

"So what does Kakashi have to do with this, other than being her sensei?" Tsunade asked in a serious tone.

"This is why I'm reporting it, instead of them. He ordered them to not report the insubordination," Hashirama replied.

Tsunade sighed, but then yelled, "Shizune, get me the files for Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura, please?"

A couple moments later Shizune entered the room and handed the files to Tsunade. Tsunade opened the files and read them for a minute before she began to write in them. Shizune looked surprised by what was being written, but said nothing. Tsunade finished and then handed back the files to Shizune and said, "Thank you."

Shizune nodded, bowed and then left the room.

"Now that that is finished, you're free to talk about the incident, since none of you reported it," Tsunade said happily.

The next twenty minutes were filled with they're narration of the incident.

--------------

Naruto, Hinata, Haku and Zabuza were happy to get a mission outside of Konoha. Kurenai had her own mission that she had to complete, so they would miss her. It was supposed to be a simple delivery. Naruto believed it was a payment for debt, but wasn't sure, so they kept this much to themselves. All four wore camouflage outfits, but all in their own distinct coloration. Zabuza preferring blues and grays, while Haku liked the earthy tones of browns and greens, Hinata seemed to like molted purple and lavender, while Naruto liked burnt orange, white and dark gray.

The team headed through the woods, jumping from tree to tree, actually aware that they were being followed by a pair of shinobi of immense power. Naruto had picked up their scent earlier and signaled for Hinata to check on their identities. When the group took a rest they were unpleasantly surprised to find out who their pursuers were. They were none other than Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame.

The team finished the delivery and left the village that they had delivered the package too. They were then confronted by the pair just outside of town. "Naruto-kun, please come with us…" Itachi said in a pleasant, but demanding voice.

Naruto sighed, but then said, "Look, Itachi, I'm not that way. I like girls."

Itachi wore a look of annoyance, but said, "I like the female gender too, but I have a job to do and it takes precedence. I'm sorry Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled a sad smile and said, "Then I'm sorry too, Itachi… KUN…"

Both groups readied themselves for a fight.

-----------

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but the battle looks like it may be just as large as this chapter on its own. I hoped you liked the filler chapter and I'm hoping to have the next chapter out next week, just in time for Christmas.


	19. Chapter 19 The battle and more

Disclaimer: Own Naruto? What are you kidding?

Chapter 19 – The battle…

Zabuza and Kisame both drew their swords and smiled with their shark-like teeth. "So, Shark boy shows up with his sentient toy," Zabuza said with joy written all over his words.

"So they let you out to play, huh? Zabuza-chan. This should be fun and I can shave you down to size," Kisame said happily.

"You can end this needless violence Naruto-kun," Itachi said, while he moved his hand up to the neck of his cloak and started to unbutton it.

Naruto smiled and closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You know Itachi, you did a really mean thing to your brother and he really wants to kill you for it," Naruto said calmly.

"My brother was not ready for this lifestyle, but since we have to fight… Fire style: Grand fireball jutsu!" Itachi exclaimed.

Hinata tapped a scroll and ran through several seals. "Water style: Water encampment!" she exclaimed, as the fire ball hit the dome of water and turned into steam.

Itachi raised an eyebrow as he felt the temperature drop. "It is early November, and thus should not be this cold just yet. Have you hidden something from me, Naruto-kun?" he asked in a playful tone.

"Ice style: Double, demonic ice mirrors!" two voices called out.

"So you have the Hyouton bloodline. Very fascinating, Naruto-kun," Itachi said to no one in particular, as the panels of ice began to entirely surround him.

"So the brat has some talent," Kisame exclaimed, while parrying an over head slash by Zabuza.

"He's just full of surprises," Zabuza said happily, as he ducked a sweeping slash by Kisame and did a jab of his own, which Kisame spun away from. Zabuza looked at Kisame and asked, "So are we warmed up yet?"

Kisame's grin took up most of his face and he said, "Almost, Water style: Big wave explosion."

Water came pouring out of Kisame's mouth and at Zabuza. He ran through a series of about thirty seals and then said, "Water style: Water explosion jutsu!" Water from the surrounding area pooled together and slammed into the water from Kisame's jutsu, blunting the force and making it just wash over the area.

The water began to rise and Kisame scowled and said, "That wasn't fair. I was supposed to capture you in my dome of water."

Zabuza chuckled as both combatants began to rise on the bubble of water. "So does that blunt blade still suck chakra for you to use, shark face?" Zabuza asked in a taunt.

Kisame smiled at his fellow former swordsman. "You know I control this jutsu and you're in trouble with it?" he asked happily.

Zabuza and Kisame began to do several hand seals. Both said at the same time, "Water style: Five shark feeding frenzy."

Five sharks composed of water and chakra began to form. After they were formed they immediately swam at each other. Each shark ran into a corresponding shark and dispersed, only to reform and began their attacks again. Zabuza and Kisame then began to engage each other with their swords yet again.

Itachi looked at the Naruto and Haku in two separate mirrors and said, "While this is an interesting jutsu, it will do you no good to resist. I can see your chakra flowing through this jutsu. Even though I can't copy this jutsu, it won't work against me. Be a good child and end this and come with me Naruto-kun."

The Naruto chuckled and drew his sword, before he said, "Sorry Itachi, this jutsu is based on speed. If you can't keep up you will lose."

"Thank you for your information I will attempt to put that information to good use," Itachi replied. He shifted his foot only an inch and saw a senbon where his foot was just a moment before. He also noticed that the image of Haku had moved to a different position. "I'm sorry little girl, but you'll have to do better than that…" he said, but suddenly winced in pain. "That wasn't nice Naruto-kun. Attacking my blind spot while I talked to your female teammate," he said in a near angry tone.

"What's wrong Itachi, can't go two on one?" Naruto asked.

Itachi glared at the image of Naruto that now took up two mirrors and Haku took up two also. "This type of jutsu must take a lot of chakra. Fire style: Flamethrower jutsu," he exclaimed, as a flame shot out of his mouth and impacted on one of the mirrors. He saw that it didn't melt and was actually impressed.

"Not going to work, Itachi. I have more chakra then the Hokage, and that is before we get to the Kyuubi," Naruto explained.

Itachi noticed that the flame was diminishing, but he was still adding the same amount of chakra.

"Not good for you. Hey Haku-chan, should we let him have some air or should we just let him suffocate?" Naruto asked the three Hakus in the other mirrors.

Haku smiled and then said, "It wouldn't be fair if we won just because he passed out would we? And Hinata-chan hasn't had a chance to do anything."

Itachi turned to see a several holes open in the dome and he was forced to jump as senbon came in from all the holes. He landed and said, "Impressive, to be have the control to send multiple water senbon in from several directions is quite impressive. I compliment all three of you and your sensei, Zabuza. Also the genjutsu will not work, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked at him with a surprised look. "Hinata-chan, did try to use a genjutsu on Itachi?" he asked rather loudly.

"Yes Naruto-kun, I was just trying, hoping that he hadn't had his Sharingan engaged, or that I might have been able to fool it, because he was too busy with avoiding my senbon," she explained.

Itachi actually cracked a smile. "I see, I've been underestimating you and your team, Naruto-kun. So I will bring it to the next level, Amaterasu," he said quietly, as black flames leapt from his right eye, but it began to bleed.

Naruto and Haku avoided the mirror that was engulfed by the black flames. Naruto grunted, as he felt the black flames attempting to melt his ice mirror. 'Dang that jutsu is actually really hot,' he thought to himself. He nodded and then he and Haku started to move around the dome quickly, but avoiding the single burning mirror. Itachi earned his position as someone previously in ANBU, by avoiding about seventy percent of their attacks.

Naruto began to breathe hard, as he pulled the burning mirror out of the dome and replacing it with a new one. "Don't touch that mirror," he exclaimed, as the mirror flew up and nearly hit Kisame.

"Dang it Itachi, watch where you send that damnable black fire, it won't come out and it burns for days," Kisame exclaimed.

Zabuza looked at Kisame in awe. He had nearly been hit by a flame that burned for days and was chastising the originator of the jutsu.

Naruto continued the attack and was able to get a good slice on the back of Itachi's hamstring, but had to move back to a mirror that he didn't want to because Itachi had pulled out his own katana and nearly cut Naruto in the chest. His vest was now cut from the upper left chest to the lower right abdomen. 'Dang he really is good. Better than his brother though,' Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto and Haku continued to attack Itachi even to the point of freezing the bottom of the dome. Itachi had to use chakra to keep his footing, because of the ice and the water that would occasionally come in from a jutsu done by Hinata from the outside. His Sharingan was working overtime to make sure that he took the least damage possible. 'Maybe we should have waited until he was alone,' Itachi thought to himself, as he blocked yet another sword swipe from Naruto, only to get a senbon in his left arm that numbed his hand. 'This fight is useless. I can't win against this type of teamwork and with Naruto having this type of bloodline, and with his team working so in sync,' he thought before he yelled out to Kisame, "We must retreat, we cannot fight them right now."

Kisame grinned evilly only to jump so the floating ice with the black fire was between him and Zabuza. "Are you sure? I can still keep Zabuza busy for a little bit longer," he exclaimed, only to be hit by a water dragon in the back. Landing only an inch from the black flames he quickly scrambled away for fear of getting hit by the flames.

"Yes we must withdraw for now," Itachi said, only to find that his feet were now tangled in vines coming up through the ice and wrapped around his leg. He was suddenly hit by several senbon and found that he could no longer hold his katana, thus it hit the ice floor with a clatter. 'I can't move my right arm, I might be done for,' Itachi thought, just as the dome began to fill with water. His thoughts turned to terror and he asked himself, 'Are they going to drown me?'

"Hey Itachi, you're sure one cool customer," Naruto said in a taunting voice, but Itachi got the pun, as the water began to chill to a very cold temperature. Naruto then continued his taunt, "Why don't you chill out while we get ready to make some sushi?"

Itachi felt his feet begin to go numb and the water continued to rise. "So you're just going to kill me with cold water?" he asked.

The image of Naruto in a mirror smiled with a playful mirth in it. "Kill you, nah. We're just putting you on ice. Ice style: Ice cube prison," he exclaimed, as the water quickly rose to Itachi's head, but then stopped and began to freeze over. "Nighty night, Itachi-kun…"

Itachi began to feel his body shudder at the extreme cold and it began to convulse in an attempt to warm his core. He attempted to use his chakra to warm his body, only to find that it was only slowing the effects of hypothermia. 'So I will not be able to let Sasuke kill me for my crimes,' he thought to himself, as he lost consciousness.

Kisame turned his blade slightly and was rewarded with several senbon turning to water just before they hit him. "Nice try little girl, my sword, Samehada, absorbs chakra. So you don't think that you can take me on by yourself Zabuza?" he asked happily.

"Why waist the effort?" Zabuza countered.

Haku ran through several hand seals and said, "Ice style: Winter blast!" The water around Haku froze and began to pull up from the surface of the bubble and was blown towards Kisame.

Kisame's eyes went wide. 'This is a nasty jutsu,' he thought, as he dodged several large chucks of ice, but even the wind seemed to be against him. He felt it freezing his skin and also causing several small cuts on his body. He would have used Samehada to defend himself from the attack, but Zabuza was using his sword to attack from just outside of the jutsu, so he had to defend against both attacks. "Hey Itachi! What are you doing? I thought you said we should retreat," he yelled down to the dome of ice.

He then stopped and saw that Itachi was lying on the ground his face nearly blue and his eyes closed. He took a rather large chuck of ice to the ribs and decided it wouldn't help to fight this group by himself. He then got really scared when he heard the next few words, but it came from their target, "Ice style: White out!"

Kisame not wanting to figure out what a jutsu would do immediately used a shunshin to get away and lick his wounds. Itachi was a lost cause even if he wasn't dead just yet. He would be when he got back to his village. He felt bad that he had to abandon Itachi, but he had little choice if what he saw was any indication of what that jutsu could do. An area larger than the water bubble he had created was now blanketed in a blizzard and it was snowing heavily. He quickly left the area.

Hinata finished her medical preparation on Itachi, as she said, "He has left the area, Naruto-kun."

"Is he well enough to be sealed away, so that we can get back to the village?" Naruto asked, while he disengaged the jutsu and collapsed to a knee.

Haku was quickly at his side to make sure that he was okay. She then moved to tend to Zabuza's wounds. He had sustained a couple of abrasions from getting hit by Samehada, but the wounds were not as bad as the chakra that the sword has stolen from him. Naruto quickly sealed Itachi when Hinata nodded approval and the team quickly moved from the area.

Forty minutes later, Naruto was jumping erratically and nearly missing branches he was using to move along. Hinata called the group to a halt and examined him. She found that he was nearing exhaustion. She handed Naruto a food pill and the group waited for it to take effect before heading home.

---------------

Sakura woke up in the hospital. She looked around to see that was hooked up to several machines to monitor her heart and brain activity. She attempted to speak only to find that her voice was lost to her.

"Don't bother trying to speak, since Hinata disabled the muscle with her senbon. Your voice will return in a couple days," Kakashi explained. He then turned his head up and closed his book. He then asked, "You want to tell me why you're going to demand training from the Hokage, even though you know that you have done wrong by her son?"

Sakura frowned and took the paper offered to her and then wrote:

_I thought that if I got training from a Sannin that Sasuke-kun would appreciate me more._

"I see…" Kakashi replied, but then asked, "But if Sasuke is back in the academy he isn't on the team until his probation is served."

Sakura then wrote:

_What did he do that was so bad?_

Kakashi sighed and began the explanation.

-----------------

Tsunade was frantic. She just got a report that there was a large 'bubble' of water about fifty kilometers to the west. That was near the village that she had sent Naruto's team and was really worried that he was in trouble. It would take an hour to reach the area even for the fastest shinobi. This information was more than twenty minutes old. She gathered her thoughts and sent a single ANBU team to investigate.

------------------

Sasuke was angry, no, he was furious. He was back in the academy and now the children in the class, even though most of them were eleven or ten, were teasing him incessantly. 'You got sent back? Ha ha…' was the usual taunt he heard, but the worst was 'So much for the great Uchiha clan…'This had nearly caused him to attack the child who had said it until Iruka pointed out that it was the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage. This was so frustrating, and he still had only been her for two days. He still had five more months of this to go. Worse yet was the training that this guy, Danzo was putting him through.

He wasn't learning any jutsu, but he was learning team tactics. 'Like those losers could actually help him on his quest for revenge,' he thought to himself. The only thing that he could actually say that was helping him was the focus on emotional control and not letting it get the best of him. He didn't want to turn into any of the zombies that seemed to work for the guy, but the lessons on emotional control and detachment were helping him in coping with his rage at his brother. Little did he know that it would come to a head soon, sooner than anyone would have thought.

-----------------

Two hours after leaving the battle sight Zabuza and his team along with an ANBU squad cleared the gates and headed towards the Hokage tower, with a nod and a look of surprise from the gate guards. They were soon standing in front of Tsunade, Minato and Sarutobi. Naruto was panting hard, but pulled out a scroll and handed it to Tsunade.

She looked at him with a wondering look and asked, "Is it really him?"

Naruto nodded and replied, "He's suffering from hypothermia and just thought you would like to ask him a few questions when you get him back into shape for questioning."

Sarutobi sighed and took a deep breath. "This complicates things greatly. There is something that we need to discuss. Zabuza, you're dismissed, since it does not include you, but the others should hear this out," he said in a solemn voice.

Zabuza bowed and left the room.

Sarutobi took a deep breath and began.

* * *

"I've lost everything, Sanbi," Yagura exclaimed, as he stood on the shore of a lake. He then continued, "I've lost my land and my people, all thanks to those Akatsuki freaks, and now I'm dying from poison from that man. Curse you Sasori of the Red Sands, I just hope you might get a chance to avenge me Sanbi. I know that you barely understand most things, but please be careful."

Yagura coughed up blood and lay down on his side. His body is suddenly surrounded by chakra and the whole body changes into a large turtle like creature that moved itself into the lake with only a slight ripple on the water.

----------------

Itachi coughed and was shivering. He couldn't see, because his eyes were apparently covered. He felt warm attempting to permeate his body, but it only emphasized his struggle against being cold. He opened his mouth to talk, only to have the muscles in his mouth seize up begin to chatter his teeth together.

"No need to talk Itachi. You're back in Konoha. We have you sealed up tighter than anybody has ever been. Naruto and his team were quite impressive to bring back a trophy, like yourself," a voice that Itachi recognized as Ibiki said in a matter of fact voice. Ibiki then continued, "I'm privy to your situation, but that doesn't mean I will go easy on you Itachi-kun." Ibiki lingered on the 'kun' for a little longer than Itachi cared for.

"So can I carve him up to get the info we need?" a voice identified as Mitarashi Anko asked in a most joyful tone.

"Let him warm up a little and he will give us all the information we need," Ibiki said with a wry grin.

Anko got a devious grin on her face, removed her trench coat and sauntered over to Itachi and climbed into the bed with the traitor, wrapping her arms around him. Ibiki rolled his eyes, as Anko asked, "So, do you feel warmer Itachi-kun?"

Itachi had to admit that the woman did give off good heat and it was warming him up. He only dreaded when she changed from giving him this affectionate touch and turned back into his interrogator.

------------------

Today was turning out to be the worst day in history for Sasuke. Now only had he been teased and chastised by academy students. He had been stopped from retaliating in the manner he wanted, mostly in fear of having to deal with the Sandaime Hokage. Even worse, when he went to the bank, he found out that Uchiha account had been reduced by eighty-five percent. While he could live off this amount, he was not happy when the manager informed him that it wasn't a mistake. He then attempted to see the Hokage to get information on what was going on, but was told that it would be at least a week from Saturday before he could get a meeting with 'her'.

He attempted to enter the office, but was restrained by a dark-haired woman with a slight figure. She had incapacitated him with a couple senbon and then informed the chuunin guards to take him to the hospital to reverse the effects of the poison that was now in his system. When they had finished neutralizing the poison, they informed him that he would not be able to mold chakra effectively for a week. He then found out that there was a new Hokage, the dobe's mother. He might as well turn tail and run for that Orochimaru guy.

* * *

Naruto just shook his head in disbelief. What they had heard was yet another failure on the part of the Sandaime to keep peace in the village. He wisely waited until the trio got home before he spoke. "It really gets me that they would do that to an entire clan. Worse yet, they would have the loyal one do the deed," Naruto said in frustration. Naruto then got really mad and yelled, "Momochi Zabuza! What the hell did you do to the apartment?"

The trio looked around and they were amazed at how the place looked even worse than it did after Naruto got back from vacation. The dishes were stacked high and not done, the garbage was piled on the table and the couches were torn up. The place also had several distinctive smells. One was rotting food the other he couldn't place, but was sure he didn't want to know.

Zabuza walked into the living room wearing only his boxers. Hinata and Haku glared at the former Mist shinobi. "Yeah what do you want? I was sleepin'," he explained.

Naruto moved his hand out in a motion, as if taking in the room. "What is the meaning of this mess? I also don't think I want to know what I'm smelling, but if you would inform me I could then figure out if you should be punished," Naruto said in a level tone.

Zabuza paled at the sight of Haku and Naruto's anger, he also began to shiver, as the temperature continued to plummet. He put his hands up in defense. "Hey, it's not like we had sex on the couch," he said in his defense.

"Who exactly were you having sex with in my house? Mr. guest…" Naruto said in an angry tone.

"Anko, of course…" Zabuza said tentatively.

"Well then get her over here to clean up the place and I want every place you guys had sex cleaned… twice," Naruto said, while holding up two fingers.

"Shall we go back to mother's place and sleep there until its clean here?" Hinata asked.

"I guess, but how will we make sure that it gets done?" Naruto asked.

"We could always ask your mother… I mean the Hokage-sama to make sure that Anko-san and father clean up the mess," Haku said with an evil grin on her face.

Zabuza paled, but went to his room and changed into some clothes and began to clean. After a little bit he made a clone and sent it to retrieve Anko, while Naruto, Hinata, and Haku walked over to the Senju compound.

* * *

"So we're at about eighty percent of what we were in our prime?" Tobirama asked the two other occupants of the Sarutobi household.

"That would be a good estimation," Hashirama replied with a grim look on his face.

"The latest reports have my former student somewhere in Rice country," Hiruzen replied.

"So we have five months to either eliminate this pest or we die?" Tobirama asked.

"That is what Minato-kun said and I believe him. Will my granddaughter authorize a mission for us to take out this pitiful man?" Hashirama asked.

Hiruzen pulled a scroll out of his robe and handed it to the Shodai Hokage. "This mission is for both of you to take all information on Orochimaru and to eliminate him with extreme prejudice. The Godaime also is authorizing you to use whatever resources you deem necessary, within reason of course," he said happily.

Tobirama looked at his brother and nodded. "We accept this mission and will do everything in our power to fulfill this mission," Hashirama said happily. He then said, "I have also left Naru-chan some scrolls to help him with his Mokuton training."

Hiruzen nodded and sighed. "I'm sorry I made such a mess of things, sensei…" he said in a disappointed tone.

"You're only human, and we so easily forget that fact. As for the villagers who prosper upon the back of my grandchild's misery, I have no sympathy. I just hope that Minato-kun will open their eyes," Hashirama said with a forlorn look on his face, and his brother mirrored his expression and could only nod in agreement.

----------------

A/N: To answer the burning question on what Tsunade did to Sakura and Kakashi's files… She reprimanded them. That is all, simple write up. So if they do something again, it is filed and she can then deliver some harsh punishment. She might talk to them at a later date, but she is quite busy right now and doesn't want to deal with it right now. To answer some other questions: I haven't decided what to do with the Suna siblings yet. As for more girls, not yet or maybe ever in this story, but I might soon release my ultimate harem story… for those who like harem crack stories, it is for you… look for it soon…

I do have some other stories that I'm flushing out, and also updating my others stories. Missing Hokage is about 50 percent complete, and Fox is about the same. This is just the first of my big Christmas release for stories and updates. Updates will come with time. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	20. Chapter 20 In the village, the peaceful

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and neither do you, so on to the story…

Chapter 20 – In the village, the peaceful village, yeah right…

Naruto stood on the Hokage tower next to both his father and adoptive mother. Even though he actually knew that she was his real grandmother, he really didn't care. The Hokage had decided to have a meeting of the entire village and the three were on top of the tower along with an ANBU guard contingent. Hinata and Haku were waiting in the wings and were keeping a low profile, along with Shikamaru and Shino.

Tsunade took a step forward and then began her address. "People of Konoha no Sato. It has been about a month since we were invaded and were able to repulse our attackers," she said authoritatively. The crowd roared its approval. She waved her hands and then continued when they quieted down, "I'm here to announce the revival of our village and to announce the chuunin from our last chuunin exams. Would these people please come forward: Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Nijiko, Momochi Haku, Uzumaki Hinata and finally Uzumaki-Senju-Namikaze Naruto."

Several gasps were heard within the crowd. Suddenly someone yelled, "He isn't the son of our beloved Hokage!"

Minato stepped forward and glared at the crowed. "I gave my life for this village! I was brought back to life by a despicable traitor, so that I could wreak havoc upon this village. Only because of the seal I put upon MY son when I sealed the Kyuubi inside of him, was I able to fight against that horrifying technique. I'm not sure if I'm angrier at the village or Orochimaru. You disregarded my last request. Many of you couldn't see past your own remorse and see Naruto for who he was, instead you ridiculed and treated him like the monster that he protects you from. This is the reason I didn't retake the mantle of Hokage. Right now the only thing that is worth saving in this village is my family and a few others. I want you to do some soul searching and see if my son is the beast you think he is or if he is the savior of this village," he said angrily, before finally folding his arm across his chest.

The mood seemed somewhat somber after Minato has scolded them, but some people started to chant, "Na-ru-to!" over and over.

Naruto looked at his father and mother, not understanding what was going on. Tsunade motioned him forward with a nod of her head. Naruto cautiously moved forward, both embarrassed and elated by the attention. He raised his hand and the crowd broke into applause. They calmed down when he lowered his hands and said, "I… I don't want you to treat me… treat me like I'm now someone special, because I'm not."

"Yeah, you're a demon," a man in the audience yelled.

Naruto scowled at the man and then presented a fox-like grin. "How do you propose that I prove that I'm not a demon?" he asked.

"Die!" the man yelled and then laughed at his poor taste in jokes.

Naruto looked at the man like he was an idiot, which he was. "How would me dying prove anything? Either way I would be dead or you wouldn't have your answer. Or if I died you would be guilty of murder. If I lived then I would have to rampage across the village to hide the evidence," he said with a chuckle.

"If Naruto-kun were a demon, then he would have long since left this village a burning wasteland," Haku said, as she moved forward and took his left arm.

"Too long has the village been in Senju hands, let someone else take the reins. I suggest we have Uchiha-sama become our Hokage-elect," another man yelled.

Tsunade and Minato laughed. She then said, "Alright, but when the village goes to hell because he can't seem to make it to an appointment on time, don't call me. I'll be elsewhere."

"You would abandon your post as Hokage?" a man asked.

Tsunade shook her head and replied, "No, after giving Uchiha Sasuke the title of Hokage I would retire and leave with my family. I wouldn't expect the village to prosper though, but you would be free to stay."

Most of the crowd began to laugh.

"But seriously, I will pick the best candidate for the position when I retire. If it does become evident that Uchiha Sasuke is the best candidate I will recommend him, but that is a long ways off. Now back to work and celebrate the continued recovery of our village," she said happily.

The crowd happily left to relax the day away and celebrate their recovery.

Sasuke was waiting outside the Hokage's office. He'd been waiting there since the Academy got out and he had skipped training with the weird old guy, Danzo. He'd now been there for four hours and she hadn't let him in yet. He used the exercises he had been taught to try and manage his anger. A woman with dark hair and small figure came out of the door and turned to him. "Uchiha Sasuke? She will see you now," she said in a level voice.

He got up and walked into the office. 'This is Naruto's mother, a big chested woman with blonde hair?' he asked himself mentally.

"Uchiha Sasuke, how are things going at the academy and with Danzo?" she asked with a furrowed brow.

He glared at the woman, but replied, "They are going fine, other than some childish games the students are pulling on me."

She saw his stiff posture and his tense jaw, but wanted more information from the wayward genin. "You do understand why you're there don't you?"

"Yes, Hokage, I'm there to learn how to work with others," he replied in a monotone voice, but then slammed his hands down on the desk and glared the woman in the eyes and said, "I'm not here to talk about that. I really want to talk about is the theft of the money from the Uchiha account. I was told it was done on your orders. Tell me woman, why did you do it?" Sasuke realized he had made a mistake when the air became oppressive and he could hardly breathe. He looked at the woman before him and saw pure rage in her eyes. He knew this felling as killing intent and had felt it before, but not this intense.

Tsunade glared at the boy in front of her and folded her hands in front of herself before she spoke. "You will show respect child. I'm the Hokage and your leader. The monies you claim to have been stolen were given as compensation for yours and your families crimes," she explained.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and asked, "What crimes?"

Tsunade laughed and lowered her killing intent enough for the boy to have to catch his breath. "Your family killed my son's birth mother and his aunt. They then proceeded to cover it up and then proceeded to make his life nearly impossible. If I had known I would have come back and killed your father for his crimes. I know the Senju and Uchiha don't get along, but he killed the mother of my godson. Along with that you assaulted and attempted to murder a fellow shinobi of the leaf. With all that he's gone through, especially because of your family, I'm surprised that he hasn't just killed people outright for what they have done to him. I know your brother killed your family, but you will cease taking it out on my son. That is a warning from his mother, not your Hokage. Your Hokage is ordering you to finish your very light sentence for attacking fellow shinobi and clean up your act or you will be put in a forced clan rebuilding program, where you're both the father and clan head, but in name only, and you'll be forced to teach the children. Do I make myself clear, student?" she asked forcefully.

Sasuke could only nod agreement.

She waved her hand to dismiss the boy and said, "You may leave now. I have work to do and don't have any more time to spend on a delinquent like you."

Sasuke left the room and kept his features guarded. Inside he was fuming. 'How dare that woman steal from my family for that orphan? Who cares that his mother was killed by my family, I had nothing to do with it, so why do I have to suffer? I will still make those girls mine though,' he thought to himself.

Naruto spent the rest of the day in a meeting with the other new chuunin. He found several interesting things about the village and how it worked. They were also told that there were even deeper secrets that were only for those of higher rank and as a chuunin he was to be a leader. They were also told about Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki of the village and that it was their duty to help contain him if he were to lose control of the beast. They were also informed that they would be in charge of genin who were with them on assignments. This did and didn't sit well with Naruto, since he might have to deal with Kakashi's team. He also didn't like how Kakashi had done a one-hundred and eighty degree turn in attitude on him. This bothered him to no end. He was now being treated like he was Uchiha Sasuke and he didn't like it.

Naruto, Hinata and Haku found chuunin duties almost as boring as D ranked assignments, but longer than D ranked. The one duty he didn't mind was working with Iruka as a substitute teacher on occasion, the kids liked him and he was able to be a kid to some extent around them. The real hard part was training with his mother and father. Both were slave drivers and given that they would push all three of them to the edge and over on training days. All three would come home tired, take a relaxing bath together and then crash in minimal clothing.

Minato spent most of his inactive time writing up training schedules and letters to Naruto about the jutsu and sealing, so that if his grandfather and great-uncle failed Naruto would be have the tools ready for him. He worried about what would happen if they also succeeded. How would he live without Kushina? He also worried about the man who had summoned the Kyuubi. He even at his prime couldn't fight against that man. Also it troubled him that the Uchiha had been taken care of in such a harsh way. According to Hiruzen, the elders had taken Itachi aside and had him kill off the entire Uchiha clan with the help of another man. While assassinating a family happened, doing so to a whole clan was rather extreme and to even include the infants was truly barbaric. He would have had the elders hung from the rafters, but it also galled him that Danzo had taken that opportunity to steal several of the eyes of the Uchiha clan and implanted them in himself.

This fight was quick and was over before he knew what happened, but it disturbed him that the village had fallen so far. He also was to meet with the Daimyo soon to discuss what was going to happen to Konoha, since he did have quite a bit of controlling authority over it, but had been lax in using his governing authority. He was rather pissed that the man had over looked the fact that the jinchuuriki of Konoha was treated so badly and worse yet it was his son. The man knew that jinchuuriki were usually selected from the families of the Hokage or important members of the council for a couple of reasons. Yes, he had a lot on his mind.

Hirashima and Tobirama were moving quickly through Rice Field country. They had eliminated several Sound shinobi, but had yet to find a large village like the other villages around the elemental nations. Both shinobi followed the trail that seemed to lead to medical station to medical station. They found prisoners, forced labor, but no Orochimaru. The information they found pointed to him being on the move more often than not. Never being in the same location for more than a month, so they pressed on to find their quarry.

Naruto sighed again for what seemed like the hundredth time. He didn't like school when he was a student and now he was beginning to hate it more, now that he was a part time teacher. He did like the time he got to spend with Konohamaru, but Hinata's sister was starting to grate on his nerves. He rolled his eyes, as the young Hyuuga heiress approached him.

"You are not a very good chuunin," Hanabi said, more of a statement then an observation.

"Is that how you speak to your teacher?" Naruto asked.

"It is how I speak to those of lower status than myself," Hanabi replied.

Naruto growled, but stopped his comeback when the hand of Iruka came upon his shoulder. "You should understand that Naruto is the son of a Hokage, two in fact and thus is of higher status than a clan heir. He also had it harder than you could ever imagine, Hanabi, so be nice or it could affect your grade," Iruka explained.

"I wouldn't do that. I had enough tampering of my own grades when I was here, so I wouldn't do it…. But, that doesn't mean I couldn't give you extra work, Hanabi," Naruto explained with a wry grin that sent a shiver down Hanabi's spine.

Hanabi quickly bowed and said with much remorse, "I'm sorry sensei. It won't happen again."

"I hope not, since I would have to talk to your father about this," Naruto explained.

Naruto sighed heavily when he entered the apartment. Haku noticed his distress and asked, "Had a hard day at the academy?"

Naruto nodded and placed his sandals at the entrance. He then heard footsteps behind him leading up to the door. It opened and Hinata entered the entryway. She followed suit and took off her sandals also. She followed Naruto into the living room and said, "It smells nice Haku-chan. What is the big occasion?"

"Zabuza-sama and Anko-chan are coming over for dinner. He said they had something to tell you. Oh did Sasuke give you any trouble Naruto-kun?" Haku asked from the kitchen.

"No, but of all people, Hinata-chan, your sister is a terror. Teme just brooded in the corner while Hanabi was just full of herself. I don't know what it is, but most of the Hyuuga I know are so stuck up it is ridiculous. Now, let's get this place cleaned up. Shadow Clone technique," he proclaimed and half a dozen clones appeared and began to clean the apartment.

About twenty minutes later they were finished and were dismissed. About thirty minutes later Zabuza and Anko showed up and the five sat down to a meal. Small talk over dinner was across various subjects, but nothing special. When the meal was done all assembled in the living room and Naruto left clones to clean up the dishes.

"Fist off I want to thank you for putting up with Zuzu's and my… extracurricular activities in your apartment and we are going to stop that," Anko explained with a grin.

Naruto knew they were up to something, but not what, so he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm moving out," Zabuza explained without any other words.

"That is kind of sudden, isn't it, Zabuza-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"Not really and your all adults, so thanks for the dinner and I will have my stuff out in about a week," Zabuza explained.

"You're going to… aren't you, Zabuza-sama?" Haku asked in an excited tone.

"Maybe…" Zabuza answered cryptically that only Haku seemed to understand.

"So you knocked the crazy lady up, right?" Naruto asked teasingly, only to earn a glare from Anko.

Zabuza looked at Anko and she returned the confused look. They both then laughed heartily. "No gaki, I'm not pregnant, yet, but you might have a little brother or sister sometime soon," Anko said with a blush on her face.

Naruto's face turned serious and he said, "Don't let them treat them like they did me. If you need for me or one of the girls to help you, let us know."

Anko smiled a warm smile at Naruto, something she hadn't seen from her ever. "Thanks, Naruto-kun. We will. If we have kids you might even be the godparents," she said happily.

"Better than my godfather, grandfather… or whatever," Naruto replied in a dejected tone.

There was a banging on the door and a clone stopped doing the dishes and answered it. A chill ran down Naruto's spine when he heard the crackle of sparks and the familiar chirp of a Chidori. Suddenly the memory of having one driven through his chest gave him a cold sweat. He jumped up and ran to his sword. He saw an angry Sasuke entering the apartment and charging up another Chidori. "You do know attacking an instructor could be termed as an attack upon a superior," Naruto jokingly explained.

The seals on Sasuke's shoulder expanded to cover the side of his face and down his left arm. He smiled wildly and replied, "Like you would ever be my superior. Chuunin or not, I'm an Uchiha and you're just a low life peasant boy."

He began charge, only to have his hand caught by a man he didn't recognize immediately. "You know that attacking my son is a violation of your parole?" Minato asked. A quick turn and a broken wrist later Sasuke was laying on the floor in pain. Minato then asked, "So why did you attack my son?"

"He killed my brother, Itachi. It was my job to avenge my clan, not his," Sasuke explained, as he hissed in pain.

"How do you know about Itachi being in or near the village?" Minato asked.

"A chuunin told me that Naruto and his bitches brought Itachi back to the village, dead," Sasuke replied angrily.

Minato shook his head and then placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He then turned to Naruto and said, "Sorry about this Naruto-kun. We'll talk later." He then disappeared in a yellow flash.

Tsunade was livid. Sasuke was in the prisoner ward of the hospital and was demanding to know about Itachi, who was only a few doors down from him recuperating from frostbite. "Were you able to find the chuunin that he described?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

Minato shook his head and replied, "I even had Inoichi look into his mind and it appears that he was under a genjutsu, so he really can't be held responsible for his actions, but we also can't let him know that Itachi is alive and that it was the elders that ordered the culling of the Uchiha."

Tsunade sighed and said, "It is never boring with him around, is it?"

Minato chuckled and replied, "I'm coming to find out that he is a lot like his mother even with seals."

Tsunade shook her head and said, "I knew that girl was trouble when I met her."

Minato smirked and replied, "Yeah, so much trouble that she gave me a son, her life for the village and her one and only son. She would have given it for the village and taken the Kyuubi with her for a time, but I thought it was more prudent to keep the Kyuubi safe and sound in Naruto. We see how well that worked out." Tsunade scowled at the comment, but nodded her agreement. He then continued, "I think that Madara is back and is trying to gather the Bijuu."

"Why would he do that?" Tsunade asked in curiosity.

"Not sure, but he was intent on getting his hands on the Kyuubi. He went so far as to pull it out of Kushina, and worse he threatened Naruto in his first minutes of life," Minato explained.

"So we have a guy who is either my grandfather's nemesis or someone parading around, as Madara. How do we keep Naruto and the other jinchuuriki out of his hands?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm not sure, but we should let them know what we know," Minato explained. He then said, "We should also finish the interrogation of Itachi. Is he out of the woods yet?"

Tsunade nodded and replied, "He should be ready to receive visitors later today."

Both Hokages smiled at this. Tsunade began to write on a scroll.

A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus, but things have been hectic. I know that this chapter is a little short, but it should be okay and heading in the right direction. I'm working on my other stories, so don't worry. I'm also working on a couple new ones.

Current status:

Happyness: Hiatus, until I figure out how to fix all the plot bunnies, they bred while I wasn't looking.

Seventh Seal: Starting a new chapter.

Of the Elves: Working on another chapter, but taking my time since it is a D&D crossover and has two Narutos and two Kyuubi in it.

Priestess: About 1k words for next chapter, but not sure how to deal with interaction between Shion and Hinata. When muse figures it out, will work on it more.

Tales of a war: Hiatus, but might work on it some over time.

Fox: Stuck at the moment, have pushed the story too far too fast, and don't want to deal with Idate…

Missing Hokage: No ideas at the moment for the next chapter, sorry.

Whirlpool: Trying to figure out the chuunin arc, have to totally revamp cannon and this is proving difficult.

Avatar: Don't want to do the 'Great divide', so might do a flashback chapter for it, still not sure.

Unnamed story: Have about 7 chapters written and somewhat flushed out, but want to make sure that it works past the chuunin exams.

Other unnamed story: working on it, but not sure if it will fly or not.

Other, other unnamed story: just started and it might prove interesting, another Avatar crossover, but this time in the Naruto world.


End file.
